Increased incidence of cerebral metastases in sarcoma patients with prolonged survival from chemotherapy. Report of cases of leiomysarcoma and chondrosarcoma.

Soft tissue and bony sarcomas rarely metastasize to the central nervous system, particularly to the cerebral hemispheres. In 456 patients with metastatic sarcoma, only 6 (1.3%) had cerebral metastases documented by brain scan at the time of referral for chemotherapy. Adriamycin-containing combination chemotherapeutic regimens have led to a significant increase in the median survival of patients from the start of chemotherapy (18 + months for responders compared, to 7 months in nonresponders). Of 14 patients relapsing after a response or stabilization of disease of 6 months or greater, the cause of relapse was the development of cerebral metastases in 5 (36%). Two of these cases, one a patient with leiomyosarcoma and one with chondrosarcoma, were documented by autopsy and are reported in detail because of their rarity in the medical literature. Although the numbers are small, the increased incidence of cerebral metastases in the group relapsing after a lengthy response suggests that improved chemotherapy for sarcomas resulting in improved survival may be chaning the pattern of metastatic disease, and may require new the;apeutic approaches.