Usage of EGFR-TKI and WBRT in NSCLC patients with brain metastases

Central nervous system (CNS) metastases, including brain metastases (BM) and leptomeningeal metastases (LM), represent a common manifestation in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). About 10% to 20% of NSCLC patients have BM and/or LM in their initial diagnosis of lung cancer. Approximately 20% to 30% of the remaining NSCLC patients will eventually have CNS metastases at some point during the course of the disease (1-5). The appearance of CNS metastases is often accompanied by disabling neurological symptoms, a decrease in quality of life, and a dismal outlook for survival; the patients usually died of CNS failure before other organ failure (2,3). As such, an optimization of the treatment algorithms for NSCLC-related CNS metastases would be of major relevance for these patients.