Comparing Pre-operative Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) to Post-Operative Whole Brain Radiation Therapy (WBRT) for Resectable Brain Metastases: A Multi-Institutional Analysis

Written By: Dr. Roshan S. Prabhu

In a combined analysis of Levine Cancer Institute and Emory University, we demonstrated that pre-operative stereotactic radiosurgery given prior to surgical removal of a brain metastases had similar survival and tumor control compared with giving whole brain radiotherapy after surgery. This is important because giving radiosurgery instead of whole brain RT has been shown to be associated with better quality of life and memory outcomes for similar patients in other studies, hence pre-operative radiosurgery may be preferred due to similar tumor control but with potentially less side effects than whole brain RT.