Patients with brain metastases: hope for recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) class 3

Purpose: The objectives of the present study were (a) to validate the prognostic classification derived from recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG); (b) to identify prognostic factors in class 3; (c) to examine the impact of treatment related variables on the prognosis in class 3. Patients and methods: Nine hundred and sixteen patients with brain metastases had resection and whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT, n=257) or WBRT alone ( n=659) at our institution from 1985 to 2000. Patients were grouped into RPA classes 1, 2, and 3 ( n=67, 441, and 408, respectively). Results: Median survival of the whole group was 3.4 months. Median survival in classes 1, 2, and 3 was 8.2, 4.9, and 1.8 months, respectively. In class 3, age (