RADI-08. A SURVEY BASED STUDY OF BRAIN METASTASES MANAGEMENT FOR PATIENTS WITH NON-SMALL CELL LUNG CANCERS OR MELANOMA

INTRODUCTION: The standard of care for 1–4 brain metastases (BrM) is stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), whereas whole brain radiation remains the standard treatment for extensive BrM, and surgical resection is appropriate in certain scenarios. Some newer systemic therapies such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immunotherapy have impressive CNS activity and are used by some practitioners either alone or in combination with other modalities as first-line treatment for BrM. We conducted a survey to ascertain current real-world practices for the treatment of BrM from NSCLC and melanoma. OBJECTIVES: Our study aimed to assess practice patterns of oncologists who treat BrM from NSCLC or melanoma. We also investigated the extent to which various clinical factors influence decision making. METHODOLOGY: We created 2 sets of surveys: one for Medical-/Clinical-/Neuro- oncologists and another for Radiation oncologists/Neurosurgeons. Surveys were conducted online or on-line. Following administration, data was tabulated and analyzed. Statistical analyses were performed using Fisher’s exact test. RESULTS: Of 361 respondents, 250 were Radiation oncologists/Neurosurgeons, and 111 were Medical-/Clinical-/Neuro- oncologists. For patients with 1–3 brain lesions, all < 2cm, 34% of respondents recommended systemic therapy alone as first-line treatment. In contrast, only 15% recommend systemic therapy alone for >9 lesions, at least one > 2cm. Medical-/Clinical-/Neuro- oncologists were more likely to recommend systemic therapy alone compared to Radiation oncologists/ Neurosurgeons for 1–3 lesions, all < 2cm (53% vs. 28%, p< .0001). For patients with > 9 BrM, one >2cm diameter, Medical-/Clinical-/Neuro- oncologists were not significantly more likely to recommend systemic therapy alone (20% vs 13%, p=.11). DISCUSSION: Our results reveal that significant numbers of physicians recommend systemic therapy alone as first-line therapy in BrM and that management decisions correlate with a physician’s type of practice. These findings underscore the need for prospective clinical trials to direct appropriate BrM management.