Radiation oncology firm Elekta is touting study results that suggest its Gamma Knife radiosurgery system is a viable treatment for patients with more than four brain metastases.
The prospective Japanese multi-institutional study included 1,194 patients. The researchers found that individuals with five to 10 tumors treated with Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery fared as well as a group with two to four tumors who also received only the radiosurgery (Lancet Oncology, April 2014, Vol. 15:4, pp. 387-395).
Median overall survival after Gamma Knife radiosurgery in all patients was 12 months, according to Elekta. Median overall survival post-treatment was 13.9 months for patients with a single lesion. In both the two- to four-metastases group and the five- to 10-metastases group, median overall survival was 10.8 months.
The findings support using Gamma Knife radiosurgery as a front-line treatment in patients with more than four brain metastases, said co-author Dr. Masaaki Yamamoto. The study was conducted by the Japanese Leksell Gamma Knife (JLGK) Society.
