Background: To examine the baseline characteristics of patients who underwent different treatments for brain metastases.
Methods: Allocated into group A [whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) alone], or group B [stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) or neurosurgery with or without WBRT], brain metastases patients with assigned treatment completed the Brain Symptom and Impact Questionnaire (BASIQ). Items of BASIQ were arranged as a symptom score or function score.
Results: Lung, breast, melanoma and renal cancer were the most prevalent primary cancer site among the study population, with 91 (53%), 25 (15%), 17 (10%) and 15 (9%) patients, respectively. Baseline BASIQ results were obtained before patients were treated with WBRT, neurosurgery, or SRS. Seventy-six (44%) and 96 patients (56%) were grouped to A and B, respectively. Group A reported lower quality of life (QOL) in all function scores (P<0.0001) and all symptom scores (P values from <0.0001 to 0.005) with the exception of energy (P=0.1).
Conclusions: Baseline QOL in patients assigned WBRT alone was statistically worse as compared to patients assigned SRS, neurosurgery with or without WBRT.
Keywords: Brain metastases; cancer; quality of life (QOL).