title: Brain metastasis from colorectal cancer: prognostic factors and survival.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Colorectal cancer (CRC) rarely metastasizes to the brain, and the incidence rate has been reported to be 1-2%. Unfortunately, the median survival for patients with brain metastasis (BM) from CRC is short. In this study, we retrospectively investigated the BM from CRC and examined the prognostic factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively analyzed 29 CRC patients who developed BM; the lesions were diagnosed synchronously in 1 patient and metachronously in 28 patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After BM, the median survival time was 7.4 months. In the groups of patients who underwent surgical resection and radiation therapy, the median survival times were 8.3 and 7.4 months, respectively. The difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. The curability of the therapy for BM, number of BM, number of metastatic organs including the brain, and the CEA level at the time of treatment of the BM were significantly associated with the cancer-specific survival (P = 0.0044, 0.0229, 0.0019, and 0.0205, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prognosis of patients with BM from CRC was associated with the curability of the therapy for BM, number of metastatic organs, and the serum CEA level. The modality of treatment had no significant impact on the outcome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases, Osaka, Japan. noura-si@mc.pref.osaka.jp
authors.forename: Shingo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Noura
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohue
authors.forename: Tatsushi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shingai
authors.forename: Ayako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Imada
authors.forename: Toshinori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sueda
authors.forename: Terumasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohigashi
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary*; D000368:Aged; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000556:secondary*; D003113:Colonoscopy; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009378:Neoplasms, Multiple Primary / Q000473:pathology; D016609:Neoplasms, Second Primary / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed