Survival and prognostic factors in patients undergoing the resection of solitary brain metastasis from non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Neurosurgery is the standard of care for resectable solitary brain metastasis (BM) from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but still with a poor outcome. Postoperative whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) was reported to reduce local recurrence, whether it could prolong survival was uncertain. In this study, we attempted to evaluate WBRT and other prognostic for overall survival (OS) in these patients. Methods: In this retrospective study, NSCLC patients with a solitary BM and controlled primary tumor who underwent neurosurgical resection were selected from the medical records database between January 2014 and December 2018. Clinical data, disease control/progression results and survival outcomes were obtained from the medical records, regular outpatient follow-up and telephone interviews. Univariable and multivariable Cox analyses of potential prognostic factors including patients' characteristics, BM features, tissue-based parameters and postoperative treatments were conducted. OS was illustrated using Kaplan-Meier curves, and group differences were assessed using the log-rank test. The subgroup analysis compared each variable between the WBRT group and the untreated control by the hazard ratio and its 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: A total of 94 patients were included, with a median OS of 812 days. Univariable analysis showed that postoperative WBRT and targeted therapy were associated with OS. Multivariable analysis demonstrated that postoperative WBRT [P<0.001, hazard ratio (HR) 0.357], chemotherapy (P=0.008, HR 0.512), targeted therapy (P<0.001, HR 0.265), and smaller tumor size (P=0.018, HR 0.553) were independent prognostic factors for prolonged OS. However, tissue-based parameters (Ki67 tumor cell proliferation index, epidermal growth factor receptor, and checkpoint levels) were identified as statistically insignificant factors. In the subgroup analysis, the beneficial effect of WBRT was only observed in patients that did not receive systematic treatments. Conclusions: Postoperative WBRT and systematic treatments after solitary BM resection improve the prognosis of NSCLC patients with a controlled primary tumor. Postoperative WBRT could be considered, especially for those who not receive systematic chemotherapy or targeted therapy treatments, as they might be more likely to benefit from it.

Cyberknife radiosurgery on the brainstem metastases of non-small cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE: Management of brainstem metastatic tumor is challenging. This study aimed to evaluate overall survival and quality-of-life in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) brainstem metastases who were treated with the Cyberknife stereotactic radiosurgery. METHODS: From August 2007 through August 2016, a total of 32 patients with 34 brainstem metastases of NSCLC were consecutively enrolled and treated with the Cyberknife radiosurgery (CKRS) at The Huashan Hospital. The study was limited to patients with NSCLC, which was confirmed by postoperative pathological examination. Patients were treated by CKRS as an initial treatment or a second treatment after whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT). Quality of life was assessed by the SF-12 score and neurological examination. RESULTS: Four out of the 32 (12.5%) patients received WBRT before or concurrent with CKRS treatment. The mean survival time after CKRS was 10.0 (95%CI: 6.0-14.0) months. Karnofsky performance score was not the independent predictor of survival after radiosurgery as analyzed by log-rank test (p = 0.392). Age, however, was a significant predictor of improved survival as analyzed by multivariate analysis (p = 0.024). SF-12 physical component scores demonstrated no significant change after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The CKSR is a non-invasive, safe, and effective modality in the treatment of patients with brainstem metastases of NSCLC. Better therapeutic outcomes of CKSR for brainstem metastasis might be achieved in the patients older than 65 years old.

Preoperational chronic pain impairs the attention ability before surgery and recovery of attention and memory abilities after surgery in non-elderly patients.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the relationship of preoperative chronic pain and postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) in non-elderly patients who underwent arthroscopic surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The pain intensity was estimated using visual analog scale, and the cognitive function was assessed by Syndrom Kurz Test. The effects of preoperative chronic pain on the cognitive scales were comparatively studied between the patients of observational group (OG, with chronic pain) and control group (CG, without chronic pain) pre- and postoperatively, and followed up for 3 months. RESULTS: A total of 57 non-elderly patients completed the study. Twenty-five patients (44%) with preoperative chronic pain were assigned to OG and 32 patients (56%) without chronic pain were assigned to CG. Preoperation chronic pain impaired the attention ability before surgery and caused less recovery of attention and memory abilities from 24 hours to 3 months after the surgery. Surgery procedures improved the attention and memory abilities and impaired the ability of numerical ability in CG patients. A postoperative pain relief in OG patients caused more recovery of cognition in addition to surgery procedure-mediated cognitive recovery. The incidence of POCD was ~3.5% and temporary at 24 hours after surgery, and disappeared at 2 weeks, 6 weeks and 3 months after the surgery. CONCLUSION: The incidence of POCD in non-elderly population who underwent arthroscopic surgery was low. Surgery improved the abilities of attention and memory, and impaired the ability of counting. The preoperative chronic pain distracted the attention before surgery, and reduced the recovery of attention and memory abilities during the follow-up period after the surgery in non-elderly patients.