Whole-Brain Radiation Therapy vs Observation After Local Treatment of Melanoma Brain Metastases

Source: The ASCO Post, October 2019

In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hong et al found that adjuvant whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) was not associated with a significant benefit in distant intracranial control vs observation after local treatment of patients with one to three melanoma brain metastases.

Study Details

In the open-label trial, 215 patients from 24 centers in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Norway who had received local treatment (surgery or stereotactic radiosurgery) for one to three melanoma brain metastases were randomly assigned between April 2009 and September 2017 to receive WBRT (n = 107) or observation (n = 108). The minimum WBRT dose was 30 Gy in 10 fractions.

The primary endpoint was distant intracranial failure within 12 months. Secondary endpoints included time to intracranial failure, survival, and time to deterioration in performance status.