Experts Raise Concern About Growing Problem of Brain Metastases in Cancer Treatment

Experts Raise Concern About Growing Problem of Brain Metastases in Cancer Treatment Leading cancer treatment experts expressed concern and hope about the increasing incidence of brain metastases during a teleconference that attracted more than 500 healthcare professionals from across the country last week. news hematology/oncology, neurology/neurosurgery MedscapeWire is edited by Deborah Flapan, an associate editor at Medscape. Send press releases and comments to medscapewire2@medscapeinc.com. Medscape Portals, Inc MedscapeWire 03/06/2000 <H4>Introduction</H4> New York (MedscapeWire) Mar 6 Leading cancer treatment experts expressed concern and hope about the increasing incidence of brain metastases during a teleconference that attracted more than 500 healthcare professionals from across the country last week. Brain metastases, which occurs when cancer cells break away from the primary tumor and travel through the blood or lymphatic system to the brain, has become a growing problem for cancer patients, due, in part, to improvements in systemic therapies that have allowed patients to live longer."Improvements in systemic therapies have allowed an increasing number of cancer patients to live long enough to develop brain metastases," said Robert Tufel, MSW, MPH, director of patient services at the National Brain Tumor Foundation (NBTF), a co-sponsor of the teleconference. "We hope that events such as the teleconference will provide patients, their families and health professionals with critical information about brain metastases."Each year, an estimated 170,000 Americans are diagnosed with brain metastases. An estimated 20% to 40% of people diagnosed with cancer will develop brain metastases, especially those patients with primary cancers of the lung and breast. Patients with brain metastases usually suffer serious deterioration of neurocognitive function such as short-term memory loss, compromised verbal skills and fine motor coordination, overall reduction in cognitive performance, and death."Although brain metastases are the most common form of brain tumors, there are no agreed upon guidelines for their diagnosis and management," said Dr. Raymond Sawaya, professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and one of the featured presenters on the teleconference. "Since brain metastases may be hard to recognize among all the symptoms and problems a patient is having due to their primary cancer, it is critical to raise awareness among medical professionals to ensure early diagnosis and the most optimal treatment."Currently, treatment options for brain metastases, which include whole brain radiation therapy, surgery, radiosurgery, or chemotherapy, will depend on the circumstances of each patient's illness. For instance, radiosurgery can be particularly effective for patients diagnosed with smaller-sized and fewer brain metastases, while surgery is best suited for patients with large tumors. Experts agree that new, more effective and widely applicable treatments are needed. Several new protocols are currently being evaluated in clinical trials, including a new class of drugs called radiosensitizers, which enhance the tumor-killing effects of radiation while minimizing damage to surrounding normal cells, as well as new chemotherapies.In addition to epidemiology, symptoms, and current treatment options, the teleconference addressed quality-of-life issues."Patients with brain metastases have unique quality-of-life issues with their cancer spreading to another, previously unaffected part of the body, while still coping with the physical and psychological affects of their primary cancer," said Sharon Lamb, clinical nurse specialist at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. "Maintaining an ongoing dialogue with patients and their families will enable medical professionals to become acutely aware of and respond to the quality-of-life needs of patients with brain metastases."