Development of leptomeningeal carcinomatosis during a marked response of brain metastases to pembrolizumab in a patient with non-small-cell lung cancer

Whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) for leptomeningeal metastasis from NSCLC in the era of targeted therapy: a retrospective study

Background and purpose

Leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) is a rare but detrimental complication in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) is used to eliminating cancer cells or microscopic foci, it is becoming less favorable due to the concerns over neurocognitive toxicity. This study aimed to re-evaluate the role of WBRT in the setting of modern targeted therapy.

Materials and methods

From December 2014 to March 2019, 80 NSCLC patients with cytologically and/or radiologically proven LM diagnosis were retrospectively analyzed.

Results

The median OS (mOS) after diagnosis of LM was 8.0 (95%CI: 4.4 to 11.6) months, and the one-year OS was 39.4%. The mOS for EGFR-mutated LM patients was 12.6 (3.0 to 22.2) months versus only 4.1 (2.8 to 5.4) for patients with wild-type EGFR (P < 0.001). Younger patients (< 53.5 yrs.) appeared to have a better OS than older patients (≥53.5 yrs.) (12.6 vs. 6.1, P = 0.041). No survival benefits were found in EGFR-mutated patients who received WBRT (P = 0.490). In contrast, mOS was significantly prolonged in wild-type EGFR patients with WBRT versus non-WBRT (mOS: 8.0 vs. 2.1, P = 0.002). Multivariate analysis indicated that WBRT (P = 0.025) and younger age (P = 0.048) were independent prognostic factors that predicted prolonged survival for wild-type EGFR LM patients from NSCLC.

Conclusion

Our study demonstrated that WBRT has clear survival advantages for patients with wild-type EGFR, and molecular biological stratification of LM patients for WBRT is highly recommended.

Intracranial Response to Anti-Programmed Death 1 Therapy in a Patient with Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer with Leptomeningeal Carcinomatosis

Central nervous system metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer remains a therapeutic challenge and confers a poor prognosis. Here we describe a patient with lung adenocarcinoma, parenchymal brain metastases, and leptomeningeal carcinomatosis who demonstrated a sustained response to programmed death 1 inhibition combined with stereotactic radiosurgery.

Management of Leptomeningeal Metastases in Non-oncogene Addicted Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Brain metastases in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients are more often detected due to imaging modalities improvements but also emerge because of improved treatments of the primary tumor which lead to a longer survival. In this context, development of leptomeningeal metastases (LM) is a devastating complication and its prognosis remains poor despite advances in systemic and local approaches. Histology characterization of NSCLC and molecular expression influence LM management. For those with “oncogene addiction,” new generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) were developed to strongly penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) with the aim to prevent central nervous system cancer dissemination, eventually impacting on LM appearance and its subsequent management. Systemic chemotherapy, often combined with intrathecal chemotherapy (when possible), was one of common indications for lung cancer patients affected by LM, without driver mutations and a good performance status but currently, with the advent of innovative systemic approaches treatment solutions in this subgroup of patients are rapidly evolving. Whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) is the conventional treatment for patients with brain metastases. Furthermore, modern radiation techniques, as stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT), improve outcomes in those cases with a limited number of lesions. However, LM represent a minority of CNS metastases and few literature data are available to drive the radiotherapy approach. Considering all relevant progress made in this setting, after a literature review, the aim of this paper is to discuss about recent developments and therapeutic options in LM management of non-oncogene addicted NSCLC.