The management of brain metastasis: recent treatment and future directions

Brain metastasis causes neurological symptoms depending on the localization of the lesion and the degree of surrounding edema and might be a detriment to the quality of life of the patients. Even if the patient is asymptomatic, neurological symptoms may appear in a short period of time. Although brain metastasis occurs of patients with advanced-stage cancer, the prognosis of cancer patients has been improved in recent years due to advances in systemic therapy, especially molecular targeted agents and immune checkpoint inhibitors. On the other hand, the frequency of asymptomatic brain metastasis is gradually increasing due to the development of diagnostic imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging, and the management of brain metastasis has become one of the most important issues in cancer treatment in order to proceed with treatment without decreasing the quality of life of patients as much as possible. This review focused on the appropriate management of brain metastasis in cancer treatment.

22/12/2024