Iridium-125 Seeds Provide Alternate to Whole Brain Radiation Therapy for Single Metastasis

Applying I125 seeds following surgery to remove a single brain metastasis proved more effective, with fewer side effects, than the standard whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) used to prevent recurrence, according to a study in the May issue of the Journal of Neuro-Oncology.

The acute effects of whole brain radiation therapy include fatigue, hair loss, memory loss and personality changes, noted Rondald Warnick, M.D., lead author, professor of neurosurgery and radiation oncology at the University of Cincinnati and director of the Brain Tumor Center.

“We initially feared that omitting WBRT would result in uncontrollable metastases elsewhere in the brain,” said lead author Warnick in a press release from UC. “However, these distant metastases were generally well controlled with surgery, stereotactic radiosurgery or WBRT.”

To determine whether the seeds could replace WBRT, the authors reviewed the files of 72 patients with a brain tumor who were treated with I125 at the UC Brain Tumor Center from 1997 to 2007. At 16 months following tumor removal and seed implants, 93 percent of participants had no recurrence; five patients developed a recurrence at the tumor resection site; and 23 patients presented with metastases in another part of the brain, the press release stated.

“In the end, 93 percent of the patients we studied did not require whole brain radiation and therefore were not exposed to the risks of cognitive problems and the inevitable side effect of hair loss,” said Warnick.