Brain metastasis treatment guidelines: consensus by the Spanish Society of Neurosurgery Tumor Section

Abstract

Brain metastases are tumors that arise from a tumor cell originated in another organ reaching the brain through the blood. In the brain this tumor cell is capable of growing and invading neighboring tissues, such as the meninges and bone.

In most patients a known tumor is present when the brain lesion is diagnosed, although it is possible that the first diagnose is the brain tumor before there is evidence of cancer elsewhere in the body.

For this reason, the neurosurgeon must know the management that has shown the greatest benefit for brain metastasis patients, so treatments can be streamlined and optimized.

Specifically, in this document, the following topics will be developed: selection of the cancer patient candidate for surgical resection and the role of the neurosurgeon in the multidisciplinary team, the importance of immunohistological and molecular diagnosis, surgical techniques, radiotherapy techniques, treatment updates of chemotherapy and immunotherapy and management algorithms in brain metastases.

With this consensus manuscript, the tumor group of the Spanish Society of Neurosurgery (GT-SENEC) exposes the most relevant neurosurgical issues and the fundamental aspects to harmonize multidisciplinary treatment, especially with the medical specialties that are treating or will treat these patients.