Timing of adjuvant radiation therapy and survival outcomes after surgical resection of intracranial non-small cell lung cancer metastases.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate if delay of adjuvant radiotherapy (ART) beyond 6 post-operative weeks affects survival outcomes in patients undergoing craniotomy or craniectomy for resection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) intracranial metastases.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis of 28 patients undergoing resection of intracranial metastases and ART at our institution from 2001 to 2016. We assessed survival outcomes for patients who received delayed versus non-delayed ART, as well as associated risk factors.

RESULTS

Among 28 patients, 8 (29%) had delayed ART beyond 6 post-operative weeks. Fifteen received stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT), 8 (29%) received whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), and 5 (18%) received combination WBRT + SRT. There were no significant differences in ART modality or dosing, age, sex, number of intracranial metastases, primary metastasis volume, rates of chemotherapy, extracranial metastases, or post-operative functional scores between groups. Expected post-operative survival was shorter with delayed ART (7 months versus 28 months, P = 0.01). The most common reason for delayed ART was complicated post-operative course (n = 3.38%). Significant risk factors for delayed ART included non-routine discharge (P = 0.01) and additional invasive procedures between surgery and ART start date (P = 0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest delayed ART in patients undergoing surgical resection of intracranial NSCLC metastases is associated with shorter overall survival. However, risk factors for delayed ART, including non-routine discharge and the need for additional invasive procedures, may have in themselves reflected poorer clinical courses that may have also contributed to the observed survival differences.