Brain Metastases in Patients with Metastatic Uveal Melanoma
Source: Consultant 360, March 2023
A group of researchers sought out to determine the incidence of brain metastases and its true rate of occurrence in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma (mUM).
For their research, Wei and colleagues conducted a multicenter, retrospective study to clarify the clinical and genomic risk factors associated with patients with brain metastases. In total, data was collected from 1845 patients with mUM where the researchers, through analysis, identified patients with brain metastases. In most cases, brain imaging was performed due to neurological symptoms and not for routine surveillance of disease.
The researchers identified 116 (6.3%) patients with brain metastases out of the total, with a median age at the time of uveal melanoma diagnosis of 54 years old. According to their data, the most common initial metastatic site was the liver (75.9%). Of the 116 patients with mUM and brain metastases 15 (12.9%) presented with brain metastases at the time of an initial metastatic diagnosis. When patients were diagnosed with brain metastases, the average survival rate was 7.6 months after diagnosis.