Surgical and radiosurgical management of brain metastases

Approximately 10% to 15% of all patients who have cancer will be diagnosed with brain metastases in the Course of their illness, although the incidence in autopsy studies is greater [1,2]. Most patients live less than a year after diagnosis of brain metastases; however, it probably is the specter of physical and mental disability during that time that is feared most by patients and families. Not all morbidity from brain metastases can be avoided or reversed, but aggressive local treatment is now known to benefit many patients who have one or a few brain metastases. These treatments (surgical resection or focused radiation) are the main subject of this article.