title: Prognostic Factors After Whole-brain Radiotherapy Alone for Brain Metastases from Malignant Melanoma.
abstract: Many patients with brain metastases from melanoma receive whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT). WBRT-regimens must consider the patient's prognosis in order to deliver the best therapy.
  
  
  
  Seven factors were correlated to intracerebral control and survival after WBRT alone in 92 patients with melanoma: WBRT regimen, age at WBRT, gender, Karnofsky performance score (KPS), number of brain lesions, number of extracranial metastatic sites, and time from melanoma diagnosis to WBRT.
  
  
  
  On univariate analyses, KPS ≥80 (p=0.075) showed a trend towards improved intracerebral control. Greater WBRT dose (p=0.029), age ≤60 years (p=0.002), KPS ≥80 (p<0.001) and no extracranial site (p=0.008) were positively correlated with survival. On multivariate analyses, KPS (hazard ratio=2.11, 95% confidence interval=1.28-3.47; p=0.003) and number of extracranial metastatic sites (hazard ratio=1.27, 95% confidence interval=1.02-1.56; p=0.030) maintained significance regarding survival.
  
  
  
  The study identified predictors of survival for patients with melanoma receiving WBRT for brain metastases that can contribute to selection of individualized therapies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany rades.dirk@gmx.net.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rades
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sehmisch
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.|Private Practice of Radiation Oncology, Hannover, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.forename: Steven E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Schild
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000556:secondary*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis
keywords: Malignant melanoma; brain metastases; prognoses; treatment results; whole-brain radiotherapy