Aim: To investigate the association of stereotactic radiation therapy (SRT) or whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) plus immunotherapy with the overall survival (OS) of cancer patients with brain metastases (BMs) regardless of the primary cancer. Patients & methods: Patients diagnosed with BMs were identified from the National Cancer Database. Results: A total of 34,286 patients were included. SRT plus immunotherapy was associated with improved OS compared with SRT without immunotherapy (hazard ratio: 0.774; 95% CI: 0.687-0.872; p < 0.001), and WBRT plus immunotherapy was associated with improved OS compared with WBRT without immunotherapy (hazard ratio: 0.724; 95% CI; 0.673-0.779; p < 0.001). Conclusion: SRT plus immunotherapy was associated with improved OS compared with SRT. WBRT plus immunotherapy was associated with improved OS compared with WBRT in cancer patients who had BMs at the time of primary cancer diagnosis.
Keywords: National Cancer Database; brain RT; brain metastases; chemotherapy; immunotherapy; overall survival; stereotactic body radiation therapy; whole-brain radiation therapy.
Aim: The purpose of this study was to examine if adding immunotherapy to the two types of brain radiation therapy (stereotactic radiation therapy [SRT] or whole-brain radiation therapy [WBRT]) will improve the overall survival of cancer patients with brain metastases (BMs). Patients & methods: Patients diagnosed with BMs were identified from the National Cancer Database. Results: This study included 34,286 patients. Patients who received SRT plus immunotherapy or WBRT plus immunotherapy were on average 23% and 28% less likely to die of any cause compared with patients who received SRT or WBRT without immunotherapy (hazard ratio: 0.774; 95% CI: 0.687–0.872; p < 0.001 and hazard ratio: 0.724; 95% CI: 0.673–0.779; p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: BMs patients who received SRT plus immunotherapy or WBRT plus immunotherapy had better overall survival compared with patients who received SRT or WBRT without immunotherapy.