TIPS-16 A PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF RADIOTHERAPY ON QUALITY OF LIFE AND DISEASE PROGRESSION IN PATIENTS WITH BRAIN METASTASES AND THEIR CAREGIVERS

INTRODUCTION: Brain metastases (BMs) are diagnosed in 10-30% of all cancer patients, and the incidence is expected to rise due to advancements in primary tumor management. Besides survival, the impact of treatment on quality of life (QoL) and course of disease is highly relevant for patients and their caregivers. The Cohort for patient-reported Outcomes, Imaging and trial inclusion in Metastatic BRAin disease (COIMBRA) study aims to gather data on natural disease progression, treatment response, tumor recurrence, complications, QoL (for both patient and caregiver), cognitive performance and survival of patients with BMs. Additionally, the study evaluates feasibility, performance and added value of new MRI techniques in patients with BMs, while providing an infrastructure for efficient and pragmatic randomized evaluation of new interventions. DESIGN/METHODS: COIMBRA is an observational, prospective cohort for patients with brain metastases and their caregivers that are referred to a tertiary academic radiation oncology department. The study is designed according to the Trials within Cohorts (TwiCs) framework. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05267158. PRELIMINARY RESULTS: Since April 2019, 419 patients have been included of which 51.2% were men and the majority of the patients had lung cancer (53.6%). Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) was administered in 92.4% and 68.1% received any systemic therapy. Median Overall Survival was 18.3 months. Questionnaires available at both baseline and 6 months after radiotherapy showed that 65.3% experienced stability or improvement in QoL measured via the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. Fewer patients reported anxiety or depression after SRS compared to before (28.4% vs 47.8%). Caregivers’ baseline responses indicated that 59% had to adjust their daily lives due to the patient’s diagnosis. CONCLUSION: Our study successfully collected clinical and QoL data from a large cohort of patients and their caregivers. The results suggest a modest improvement in anxiety and QoL after radiotherapy.