Brain metastases: Post-whole brain radiotherapy systemic treatment increases survival
Junliang Liu
University of Manitoba, Canada
: J Clin Exp Oncol
Abstract
Purpose/Objective: The prognosis of cancer patients with brain metastases has been dismal even with availability of stereotactic radiosurgery. This study is to explore the impact of post-whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) systemic treatment. Material & Methods: A consecutive cohort of patients with brain metastases were treated with WBRT with a dose-fractionation of mostly 30 Gy in 12 fractions, daily treatment, five days per week. Data was analyzed by dividing patients into group 1 patients who received post-WBRT systemic treatment and group 2 patients who did not have post-WBRT systemic treatment. Results: Between July 1, 2005 to May 1, 2016, 65 patients’ male 31, female 34, aged 25 to 92 years old were identified. Eleven out of 65 patients received post-WBRT systemic treatment including chemotherapy (for 10 out of 11 patients) and target therapy (for 1 out of 11 patients). The median post-WBRT survival for patients who received post-WBRT systemic treatment was 14 months, compared to a much short median survival of only 3 months for patients who did not receive post-WBRT systemic treatment. Conclusion: Post-WBRT systemic treatment increases the overall survival of patients with brain metastases.
Biography
Junliang Liu underwent his Radiation Oncology Residency in University of Manitoba, Canada from 2000 to 2005. Since July 2005, he has been an attending Radiation Oncologist working at CancerCare Manitoba, Canada. He was the Radiation Oncology Residency Program Director from 2006 to 2012. He graduated from West China University of Medical Sciences (now is the Medical School Sichuan University), China in 1983 and pursued a Master’s Degree in Pediatrics from 1983 to 1986 in the same medical school. He was a Pediatrician working at Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, China from 1986 to 1991. He was a Guest Researcher supervised by Professor Hans Wigzell at the Department of Immunology, Karolinska Institute, Sweden, from 1991 to 1994. He earned a PhD in Immunology from La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia in 1997, and conducted Post-Doctoral Research in Immunology at University of Alberta, Canada, from 1997 to 2000, before his residency training in Radiation Oncology. His publications included the ones in the prestigious journals of Nature Medicine and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS). His current research interest is the treatment outcomes of gastrointestinal malignancies, breast cancer, and metastatic cancer.
