ArticleJournal of neurosurgery2022
Risk of tract recurrence with stereotactic biopsy of brain metastases: an 18-year cancer center experience.
Article in Journal of neurosurgery, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Microfluidic approaches for liquid biopsy in glioblastoma: Insights into diagnostic and follow-up strategies.Bioengineering & translational medicine · 2026Review
- Circulating MicroRNAs do not provide a diagnostic benefit over tissue biopsy in patients with brain metastases.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Article
- Laser interstitial thermal therapy as a radiation-sparing approach for central nervous system tumors in children with cancer predisposition syndromes: report of a child with Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Illustrative case.Journal of neurosurgery. Case lessons · 2024Article
- Magnetic resonance-based imaging biopsy with signatures including topological Betti number features for prediction of primary brain metastatic sites.Physical and engineering sciences in medicine · 2023Article
- Risk of Tract Seeding Following Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy for Brain Tumors.Neurosurgery · 2023Article
- Multimodality durable salvage of recurrent brain metastases refractory to LITT, SRS and immunotherapy with resection and cesium-131 brachytherapy: case report and literature review.BMJ case reports · 2021Article
- Salvage resection of recurrent previously irradiated brain metastases: tumor control and radiation necrosis dependency on adjuvant re-irradiation.Journal of neuro-oncology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveStereotactic biopsy is increasingly performed on brain metastases (BrMs) as improving cancer outcomes drive aggressive multimodality treatment, including laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT). However, the tract recurrence (TR) risk is poorly defined in an era defined by focused-irradiation paradigms. As such, the authors aimed to define indications and adjuvant therapies for this procedure and evaluate the BrM-biopsy TR rate.
methodsIn a single-center retrospective review, the authors identified stereotactic BrM biopsies performed from 2002 to 2020. Surgical indications, radiographic characteristics, stereotactic planning, dosimetry, pre- and postoperative CNS-directed and systemic treatments, and clinical courses were collected. Recurrence was evaluated using RANO-BM (Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology Brain Metastases) criteria.
resultsIn total, 499 patients underwent stereotactic intracranial biopsy for any diagnosis, of whom 25 patients (5.0%) underwent biopsy for pathologically confirmed viable BrM, a proportion that increased over the time period studied. Twelve of the 25 BrM patients had ≥ 3 months of radiographic follow-up, of whom 6 patients (50%) developed new metastatic growth along the tract at a median of 5.0 months post-biopsy (range 2.3-17.1 months). All of the TR cases had undergone pre- or early post-biopsy stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), and 3 had also undergone LITT at the time of initial biopsy. TRs were treated with resection, reirradiation, or observation/systemic therapy.
conclusionsIn this study the authors identified a nontrivial, higher than previously described rate of BrM-biopsy tract recurrence, which often required additional surgery or radiation and justified close radiographic surveillance. As BrMs are commonly treated with SRS limited to enhancing tumor margins, consideration should be made, in cases lacking CNS-active systemic treatments, to include biopsy tracts in adjuvant radiation plans where feasible.
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