Table 1.
Characteristics of the studies included in the systematic review (n = 8) and meta-analysis (n = 6)
| Author (year of publication) | Total Number of patients | Treatment modality (number of patients) | Number of Cases (number of metastases) |
Mean Age | Pathology of the metastasis | Radiation dose (Scheme) | Radiation dose (EQD2) | NOS score | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lung (SC) | Lung (NSC) | Melanoma | Colon | Renal | Breast | Other | Unknown | ||||||||
| Elaimy (2011) a 16 | 275 | Resection + WBRT (11 patients) |
7 patients (1 metastasis) 4 patients (unknown) |
60 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 0 | UA | 0 | 0 | 2 | Median: 30 Gy (NA) | 37.5 Gy | 7 |
| Resection + SRS (15 patients) |
10 patients (1 metastasis) 3 patients (2–4 metastases) |
57 | 1 | 6 | 4 | UA | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Median: 18 Gy (1 dose) | 90.0 Gy | |||
| Gu (2015)17 | 93 | Resection + WBRT (19 patients) |
37 patients (1 metastasis) 8 patients (2–3 metastases) |
UA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 Gy (10x3Gy) | 37.5 Gy | 6 |
| 40 Gy (20x2 Gy) | 40.0 Gy | ||||||||||||||
| Resection + SRS (11 patients) |
UA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12–24 Gy (1 dose) | 42.0−> 110.0Gy | ||||
| Hsieh (2015)18 | 212 | Resection + WBRT (156 patients) |
83 patients (1 metastasis) 52 patients (2–3 metastases) |
58 | UA | 78 | 17 | UA | UA | 24 | 31 | UA | 30 Gy (10 x 3 Gy) | 37.5 Gy | 7 |
| 37.5 Gy (15x2.5 Gy) | 42.2 Gy | ||||||||||||||
| Resection + SRS (56 patients) |
42 patients (1 metastasis) 14 patients (2–3 metastases) |
60 | UA | 30 | 5 | UA | UA | 6 | 14 | UA | 18 Gy (1 dose) | 56.0−> 110.0 Gy | |||
| Hwang (2010) a19 | 43 | Resection + WBRT (18 patients) |
1.67 +/− 0.91 b | 52.8 | 1 | 12 | UA | UA | UA | 1 | 2 | 2 | UA | UA | 7 |
| Resection + SRS (25 patients) |
1.54 +/− 0.72 b | 59.47 | 1 | 15 | UA | UA | UA | 4 | 3 | 0 | UA | UA | |||
| Lee (2013) a5 | 157 | Resection + WBRT (109 patients) |
96 patients (1 metastasis) 61 patients (2–3 metastases) |
UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | 30 Gy (10x3 Gy) | 37.5 Gy | 7 |
| 40 Gy (20x2 Gy) | 40.0 Gy | ||||||||||||||
| Resection + SRS (17 patients) |
UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | 15–24 Gy (1 dose) | 63.8−> 110 Gy | ||||
| Patel (2014)24 | 132 | Resection + WBRT (36 patients) |
14 patients (1 metastasis) 22 patients (2–3 metastases) |
54.6 | UA | 15 | UA | UA | UA | UA | 21? | UA | 30 Gy (10x3Gy) | 37.5 Gy | 8 |
| 37.5 Gy | 42.2 Gy | ||||||||||||||
| Resection + SRS (96 patients) |
68 patients (1 metastasis) 28 patients (2–3 metastases) |
56 | 0 | 45 | UA | UA | UA | UA | 51 | UA | 15–21Gy (1 dose) | 63.8−> 110.0 Gy | |||
| Salvati (1997) a28 | 19 | Resection + WBRT (14 patients) |
14 patients (1 metastasis) | UA | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40–50Gy (NA) | 40.0–50.0 Gy | 6 |
| Resection + SRS (5 patients) |
5 patients (1 metastasis) | UA | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | UA | UA | |||
| Caroli (2011)29 | 204 | Resection + WBRT (45 patients) |
Not available | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | 7 |
| Resection + SRS (13 patients) |
UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | UA | ||||
Abbreviations: SRS Stereotactic Radiosurgery, WBRT Whole Brain Radiotherapy, SC Small-cell, NSC Non-Small Cell, Gy Gray, NOS New-Castle Ottawa, UA Unavailable, EQD2 equivalent dose in 2-Gy fractions (EQD2(α/β = 2)), RCS Retrospective cohort study
a included in the meta-analysis
b reported as mean +/− SD