title: Is Karnofsky Performance Status Correlate with Better Overall Survival in Palliative Conformal Whole Brain Radiotherapy? Our Experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Brain metastases (BMs) are a common event in the progression of many human cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential prognostic factors for the clinical identification of a subgroup of patients that could benefit from whole brain conformal radiotherapy (WBRT).
  
  
  METHODS
  From January 2010 to February 2014, 80 patients with a diagnosis of BMs underwent WBRT at our Radiation Oncology Department, San Luigi Hospital, Italy. Among them, 36 medical records were retrospective reviewed. Gender, age, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), number of BMs on computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance images, presence or absence of perilesional edema, presence or absence of necrosis pattern, and histology of primary tumor were analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In our cohort of patients, significant prognostic factors for 20 months overall survival was KPS> 70, while a statistical trend (P = 0.098) was registered regarding primary breast.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  WBRT can be still considered a standard and effective treatment in patients with BMs. High KPS and breast cancer primary tumor seem to be useful parameters for characterize a subgroup of patients with more favorable prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology Unit, University of Turin, S. Luigi Hospital, Orbassano, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Reali
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology Unit, University of Turin, S. Luigi Hospital, Orbassano, Italy.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Allis
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology Unit, University of Turin, S. Luigi Hospital, Orbassano, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Girardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology Unit, University of Turin, S. Luigi Hospital, Orbassano, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Verna
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology Unit, University of Turin, S. Luigi Hospital, Orbassano, Italy.
authors.forename: Lavinia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bianco
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Radiation Oncology Unit, University of Turin, S. Luigi Hospital, Orbassano, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Grazia Ruo
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Redda
keywords: Brain metastases; Karnofsky performance status; Prognostic factors; Whole brain radiotherapy