Peer-reviewed journal article

Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) during surgical resection of brain metastases

An international pooled analysis of 54 patients

13 October 2021 · 8 min read

Author Christopher P. Cifarelli, MD, PhD, FAANS, FACS Director of Gamma Knife Radiosurgery, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, WVU Cancer Institute, West Virginia University Hospital, Morgantown, USA

Reading this brief overview does not substitute the reading of the original study, but is just giving an abridged insight and is not necessarily reflecting the opinion of notified bodies and/or regulatory authorities, such as the DQS or FDA.

A brief overview of a pooled analysis about brain metastases patients created by Christopher P. Cifarelli, MD, PhD, FAANS, FACS on behalf of ZEISS, April 2020.

Original title:

Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) for surgically resected brain metastases: outcome analysis of a international cooperative study.

Authors:

Christopher P. Cifarelli, Stefanie Brehmer, John A. Vargo, Joshua D. Hack, Klaus H. Kahl, Gustavo Sarria-Vargas, Frank A. Giordano

Source:

Cifarelli, C.P., Brehmer, S., Vargo, J.A. et al. Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) for surgically resected brain metastases: outcome analysis of an international cooperative study. J Neurooncol 145,391 397 (2019) doi: 10.1007/s11060-019-03309-6

Giving an immediate and sufficient dose sterilizing the tumor bed after resection of brain metastases is a constant important discussion.
Key elements of brain metastases therapies are local control, the handling of radiation necrosis and a short time until a systemic therapy starts, potentially this can be achieved with immediate IORT.
For this retrospective study, 54 patients with a median age of 64 were included from three different centers in the USA and Germany. Following surgical resection, all patients received intraoperative radiotherapy with a median surface dose of 30Gy.