Treatment Patterns and Survival Outcomes of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients Initially Diagnosed With Brain Metastases in Real-World Clinical Practice

Background This study aimed to comprehensively analyze the characteristics, treatment patterns, and survival outcomes of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients initially diagnosed with brain metastases (BMs) in real-world practice. Methods We enrolled NSCLC patients initially diagnosed with BMs between Jan 2004 and Jan 2018 in our institution. Patient demographics, treatment modalities, and survival outcomes were then analyzed. Brain localized treatment (BLT) included early brain radiotherapy (EBR), deferred brain radiotherapy (DBR), and surgery. Results A total of 954 patients were identified. Concerning initial treatment, 525 patients (55.0%) received systemic medication (SM)+BLT, 400 patients (41.9%) received SM only, and 29 patients received BLT only (3.0%). SM+BLT cohort was associated with longer median overall survival (mOS) than the SM only and the BLT only cohorts both in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)/anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-negative/unknown patients (15.3 months, 95% confidence interval [CI], 14.2-16.4; 11.1 months, 9.0-13.2; 7.0 months, 5.4-8.6; p