Prostate Adenocarcinoma with Brain Metastasis: A Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Database Analysis 2010–2015

BACKGROUND: Prostate adenocarcinoma rarely metastasize to the brain. The aim of this study was to understand the risk association and survival outcomes comparing prostate cancer with brain metastasis (group 1) with prostate cancer without brain metastasis (group 2) at the time of initial diagnosis. MATERIAL/METHODS: We searched the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) statewide cancer registries for all cases of stage IV prostate cancer adenocarcinoma diagnosed between 2010 and 2015. We used the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression to analyze survival outcomes and logistic regression to study the association between the presence of brain metastasis and potential risk variables. Exclusion criteria were the presence of neuroendocrine and small cell histology. RESULTS: The study included 14 753 patients. Of these, 187 patients were in group 1 (with brain metastasis) and 14 566 were in group 2 (without brain metastasis). When comparing the metastases distribution at the time of initial presentation between group 1 and group 2, the occurrence of bone metastasis was similar in the 2 groups (87% vs 90%); however, liver metastasis (13% vs 4%) and lung metastasis (29% vs 7%) were significantly higher in group 1. We found a strong association between brain metastasis and visceral metastasis. There was no association between age, race, and grade and having brain metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis shows that visceral metastasis is associated with a higher risk of brain metastasis. Presence of a visceral metastasis can be a useful parameter to consider early magnetic resonance imaging of the brain to facilitate diagnosis of asymptomatic brain metastasis.