Changing characteristics, treatment approaches and survival of patients with brain metastasis: data from six thousand and thirty-one individuals over an observation period of 30 years

BACKGROUND: An accurate classification of patients with brain metastases (BMs) is an important foundation to guide individualised treatment decisions and to formulate BM cohorts for modern clinical trials. METHODS: Six thousand and thirty-one patients with newly diagnosed BM from different solid tumours treated between 1986 and 2020 were identified from the Vienna Brain Metastasis Registry. RESULTS: A rising fraction of patients presented with asymptomatic BM during the observation period (1986-1999: 20.2% vs 2010-2020: 30.6%; p 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our data highlight shifting trends in the symptomatic presentation and in treatment strategies of patients with BM over the last decades. Entity specific aspects and, in particular, the presence of targetable driver mutation impact the clinical presentation and prognosis. Future BM specific trials need to address the modern composition of BM cohorts and the distinct clinical course of patients with targetable driver mutations.