Survey on Turkish Radiation Oncologists’ Approach for Brain Metastases of Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Study from Turkish Radiation Oncology SRS Group (TROD 10-014)

OBJECTIVE
Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) reduces the risk of intracranial progression and improves overall survival (OS) in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). However, with advances in systemic therapies and improvements in neuroimaging, the OS benefit has been increasingly questioned. Herein, we report the results of a survey study which evaluates the approach of radiation oncologists in patients with SCLC and brain metastases with or without a prior PCI.
METHODS
The online survey was conducted by the Steering Committee of The Turkish Society of Radiation Oncology Stereotactic Surgery (TROD-SRS) subgroup and distributed to the members of TROD-SRS in
Türkiye. The survey consisted of two sections including 16 questions.
RESULTS
One hundred and sixty-four respondents completed the questionnaire. While 88% of the respondents preferred SRS in patients with a prior PCI, WBRT came forward in patients without a prior PCI. More than half of the respondents opted for SRS after metastasectomy. The decision to perform SRS in patients with brain metastases of SCLC depend on the presence of a prior PCI, number and volume of metastases, and the availability of SRS. More experienced respondents had a decreased concern for deciding for SRS treatment but these respondents also looked over more factors when deciding for SRS.
CONCLUSION
The results of this survey study indicate that SRS is widely accepted for the management of brain metastasis in patients with SCLC in our country. We anticipate that the utilization of SRS will continue to
increase as access to SRS-capable centers.

Keywords: Brain metastasis; small cell lung cancer; stereotactic surgery.