Prognostic factors for patients with sarcoma with brain metastases.
Authors: Zhang Ellen , Farag Sheima , Dietz Hilary , Wang Daniel Ying , Hirbe Angela C. , Ganjoo Kristen N. , Van Tine Brian Andrew , Miah Aisha B. , Zaidi Shane H. , Keedy Vicki Leigh , Davis Elizabeth J. , Bui Nam 
Published: June 2024

e23542

Background: Sarcomas arise in mesenchymal tissue occurring anywhere in the body with a propensity to metastasize often to the lung, liver, and bones. The brain is a rare site of metastasis with increasing incidences found in those relapsing after prolonged disease control with treatment. Brain metastases development has been associated with dismal prognoses, and more data is necessary to assess factors for improved outcomes of patients. Methods: The retrospective cohort includes 81 patients diagnosed with sarcomas metastasizing to the brain treated at five sarcoma centers between 1/1998 and 12/2021. Demographic data, characteristics and presentation of brain metastases, and treatment modalities for malignancy were identified and analyzed. Results: In total, there were 45 men and 36 women with the mean age of diagnosis being 43 years. Upon presentation, 89% of patients were symptomatic with the most common presenting symptom being focal neurological deficits (37.9%) and headaches (22.1%). At the time of analysis, 58 patients (71.6%) had died of metastatic sarcoma, 16 patients (19.8%) were alive with disease, and 3 patients (3.7%) were alive without evidence of disease. The most frequent histologies were leiomyosarcoma (12.3%) and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (12.3%). In 70.4% of patients, the tumor also had metastasized to the lung. Median time from sarcoma diagnosis to brain metastases was 1.9 years (range: 0-34.6 yrs). Median time from diagnosis of brain metastases until death was 6 months (range: 0.5-330 mo). Treatment modalities of brain metastasis varied widely with 18 patients (22.2%) undergoing whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT), 11 (13.6%) undergoing systemic chemotherapy and WBRT, and 10 (12.3%) undergoing combined surgery, systemic chemotherapy, and stereotactic radiosurgery. In multivariate analysis, the variables identified as statistically significant for predicting improved survival outcomes included surgery (HR 0.30) and chemotherapy (HR 0.24), but not radiation therapy. In patients undergoing surgery or chemotherapy, the median survival time after brain metastasis diagnosis was markedly improved, with 13.9 months and 12 months respectively versus the overall patient median of 6 months. In patients undergoing radiation therapy, there was significantly improved survival with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS, mOS 11.6mo) as opposed to whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT, mOS 8.3mo) probably due to decreased mean number of brain metastases found in those necessitating SRS (3.2) compared to WBRT (5.7). Conclusions: Together, our findings identify that patients with metastatic sarcoma to the brain have poor prognoses, often have concurrent metastasis, and have median survival of only 6 months. However, there were significantly improved outcomes with interventions such as surgery, chemotherapy, or SRS, suggesting that aggressive treatments are warranted despite the overall poor prognosis.