[Results of the surgical treatment of metastatic brain tumors].

Results of surgical treatment in 85 cases with metastatic brain tumors are reviewed. The lung was the most frequent site of primary lesion and the following sites were GI tract and the breast. Adequate treatment consisted of total removal of tumor, irradiation and/or chemotherapy were carried out in 51 cases. The remaining 34 cases had an unsuccessful treatment because of their poor physical condition. Mean survival time after adequate treatment was 8.75 months in the former group and 3.06 months in the latter group. Of 51 patients (86.3%) in the former group, 44 showed improvement of the neurological signs after treatment. In the latter group, only 14 patients (41.2%) revealed neurological improvement. Total removal of tumor was carried out in 55 of 85 cases. The one-month operative mortality for all patients was 19.2%. Postoperative one-year survival rate was 12.5% in 16 cases with multiple metastases and in 36 cases with single metastasis was 25.6%. Follow-up study of 77 cases showed 31.2% of survival rate in 6 months, 18.2% in one-year and 5.2% in two-years. Only four patients survived more than 3 years after treatment. The direct causes of death in cases of total removal were attributed in recurrence of primary lesion or remote metastases to other organs. This study revealed that the prognosis of the patient with metastatic brain tumor was influenced by existence of intracranial hypertension due to brain edema or metastatic tumor itself and metastases to other organs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)