Performance status improvement and advances in systemic treatment after brain metastases resection: a retrospective single-center cohort study of non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Background: Brain metastasis (BrM) is prevalent among patients with NSCLC, and surgical resection of BrM constitutes a promising treatment strategy for local management and histopathological diagnosis, although it is offered for a select group of patients. Limited information exists concerning the improvement in performance status (PS) following BrM resection or the outcomes stratified by subsequent systemic therapy.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective single-center cohort study including NSCLC patients with surgically resected BrM and focused on the improvement in PS and subsequent therapy after BrM resection.

Results: 71 patients were included, and the median overall survival was 18.3 months (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 8.7, not reached). Patients with NSCLC who underwent surgical resection of BrM showed significant improvement in PS (18% and 39% showed ECOG PS of 0-1, before and after BrM resection, respectively [p = 0.006]), and patients with PS improvement were younger than those with PS unimprovement (median, 62 years versus 66 years; p = 0.041). Regarding subsequent systemic therapy after BrM resection, 21 patients (30%) received cytotoxic chemotherapy, 14 patients (20%) received tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), 3 patients (4%) received immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), and 21 patients (30%) received no subsequent therapy. The survival outcomes of patients stratified by subsequent systemic treatments suggested the tendency that those who received TKI or ICI showed better survival outcomes, although a small number of patients hindered statistical comparisons.

Conclusions: We describe the outcomes of patients with NSCLC who underwent surgical resection of BrM, revealing that younger patients were more likely to anticipate improvement in PS, and patients who received TKI or ICI after BrM resection tended to exhibit a more preferable prognosis.