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Radiotherapy

Neurocognitive considerations in the treatment of brain metastases

The results of a randomized, controlled trial investigating the neurocognitive effects of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), with or without whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT), to treat brain metastases demonstrated a significant reduction in learning and memory, associated with the addition of WBRT to SRS. The results indicate that SRS monotherapy is an effective and safe initial management strategy for brain metastases.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by Grant W81XWH-062-0033 from the US Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program to R. J. Weil. We wish to thank the M. Burkhardt, Chair in neurosurgical oncology and the Karen Colina Wilson research endowment within the Brain Tumor and Neuro-oncology Center at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation for additional support and funding.

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Correspondence to Nicholas F. Marko.

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Marko, N., Weil, R. Neurocognitive considerations in the treatment of brain metastases. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 7, 185–186 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2010.30

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