Contemporary Oncology
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ISSN: 1428-2526
Contemporary Oncology/Współczesna Onkologia
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Original paper

Best supportive care in patients with brain metastases: impact of the primary tumour type on survival

Carsten Nieder
1, 2
,
Ellinor C. Haukland
1, 2
,
Bård Mannsåker
1
,
Luka Stanisavljevic
1
,
Astrid Dalhaug
1, 2

  1. Department of Oncology and Palliative Medicine, Nordland Hospital, Bodø, Norway
  2. Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
Contemp Oncol (Pozn) 2026; 30 (1)
Online publish date: 2026/02/27
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- Best supportive.pdf  [0.09 MB]
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1. Gaspar L, Scott C, Rotman M, Asbell S, Phillips T, Wasserman T, et al. Recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) of prognostic factors in three Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) brain metastases trials. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 1997; 37: 745-751.
2. Lagerwaard FJ, Levendag PC, Nowak PJ, Eijkenboom WM, Hanssens PE, Schmitz PI. Identification of prognostic factors in patients with brain metastases: a review of 1292 patients. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 1999; 43: 795-803.
3. Nieder C, Bremnes RM, Andratschke NH. Prognostic scores in patients with brain metastases from non-small cell lung cancer. J Thorac Oncol 2009; 4: 1337-1341.
4. Nieder C, Andratschke NH, Grosu AL. Brain metastases: is there still a role for whole-brain radiation therapy? Semin Radiat Oncol 2023; 33: 129-138. 
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6. Nieder C, Dalhaug A, Haukland E, Mannsåker B, Pawinski A. Contemporary radiooncological management of bone metastases from breast cancer: factors associated with prescription of different fractionation regimens (short or long course) in a rural part of North Norway with long travel distance. Int J Circumpolar Health 2017; 76: 1270080.
7. Nieder C, Aanes SG, Haukland EC. Days at home in the last three months of life: patterns-of-care analysis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Contemp Oncol (Pozn) 2023; 27: 41-46.
8. Nieder C, Aanes SG, Stanisavljevic L, Mannsåker B, Haukland EC. Return to work in younger patients with brain metastases who survived for 2 years or more. J Neurooncol 2025; 171: 139-154.
9. Berghoff AS, Wolpert F, Holland-Letz T, Koller R, Widhalm G, Gatterbauer B, et al. Combining standard clinical blood values for improving survival prediction in patients with newly diagnosed brain metastases-development and validation of the LabBM score. Neuro Oncol 2017; 19: 1255-1262.
10. Forrest LM, McMillan DC, McArdle CS, Angerson WJ, Dunlop DJ. Comparison of an inflammation-based prognostic score (GPS) with performance status (ECOG) in patients receiving platinum-based chemotherapy for inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer. Br J Cancer 2004; 90: 1704-1706.
11. Terrell D, Camarano J, Whipple S, Guthikonda B, Beyl R, New- man WC. Financial toxicity in patients with glioblastoma. J Neurooncol 2025; 171: 75-83.
12. Carrera PM, Curigliano G, Santini D, Sharp L, Chan RJ, Pisu M, et al. ESMO expert consensus statements on the screening and management of financial toxicity in patients with cancer. ESMO Open 2024; 9: 102992. 13. Pichardo-Rojas PS, Vázquez-Alva D, Alvarez- Castro JA, Flores-Patiño B, Escalante-Ordoñez E, Haro-Adame JA, et al. Comparative effectiveness of frame-based and mask-based Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery in brain metastases: a 509 patient meta-analysis. J Neurooncol 2024; 170: 53-66.
13. El Shafie RA, Dresel T, Weber D, Schmitt D, Lang K, König L, et al. Stereotactic cavity irradiation or whole-brain radiotherapy following brain metastases resection – outcome, prognostic factors, and recurrence patterns. Front Oncol 2020; 10: 693.
14. Fife KM, Colman MH, Stevens GN, Firth IC, Moon D, Shannon KF, et al. Determinants of outcome in melanoma patients with cerebral metastases. J Clin Oncol 2004; 22: 1293-1300.
15. Nieder C, Andratschke NH, Grosu AL. How we treat octogenarians with brain metastases. Front Oncol 2023; 13: 1213122.
16. Tsui DCC, Camidge DR, Rusthoven CG. Managing central nervous system spread of lung cancer: the state of the art. J Clin Oncol 2022; 40: 642-660.
17. Yri OE, Astrup GL, Karlsson AT, van Helvoirt R, Hjermstad MJ, Husby KM, et al. Survival and quality of life after first-time diagnosis of brain metastases: a multicenter, prospective, observational study. Lancet Reg Health Eur 2024; 49: 101181.
18. Fadul CE, Sarai G, Bovi JA, Thomas AA, Novicoff W, Anderson R, et al. Relevance of the updated recursive partitioning analysis (U-RPA) classification in the contemporary care of patients with brain metastases. Cancers (Basel) 2023; 15: 3255.
19. Nieder C, Stanisavljevic L, Aanes SG, Mannsåker B, Haukland EC. 30-day mortality in patients treated for brain metastases: extracranial causes dominate. Radiat Oncol 2022; 17: 92.
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21. Sperduto PW, Mesko S, Li J, Cagney D, Aizer A, Lin NU, et al. Survival in patients with brain metastases: Summary report on the updated diagnosis-specific graded prognostic assessment and definition of the eligibility quotient. J Clin Oncol 2020; 38: 3773-3784.
22. Sharma A, Mrugala MM. Supportive care for patients with brain metastases from lung cancer. J Thorac Dis 2021; 13: 3258-3268.
23. McDermott DM, Seldomridge A, Maniar A, Mattes MD. Patterns of palliative care consultation among patients with brain metastasis: an opportunity for radiation oncologists to facilitate earlier referral. Ann Palliat Med 2020; 9: 3513-3521.
24. Seekatz B, Lukasczik M, Löhr M, Ehrmann K, Schuler M, Keßler AF, et al. Screening for symptom burden and supportive needs of patients with glioblastoma and brain metastases and their caregi- vers in relation to their use of specialized palliative care. Support Care Cancer 2017; 25: 2761-2770.
25. Marion S, Ghazal L, Roth T, Shanahan K, Thom B, Chino F. Prioritizing patient-centered care in a world of increasingly advanced technologies and disconnected care. Semin Radiat Oncol 2024; 34: 452-462.
26. Nieder C, Norum J, Dalhaug A, Aandahl G, Engljähringer K. Best supportive care in patients with brain metastases and adverse prognostic factors: development of improved decision aids. Support Care Cancer 2013; 21: 2671-2678.
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