BACKGROUND: This study tested the hypothesis that time of day of treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has an effect on local control (LC) and overall survival (OS) in a large cohort of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) brain metastases. METHODS: At Washington University in St. Louis, 437 patients with NSCLC were treated with SRS for NSCLC brain metastases. Receiver operating characteristics analysis was used to identify an optimal cut-point for OS relative to time of day. Kaplan-Meier logrank statistics, and Cox regression univariate and multivariate analysis were employed to isolate any independent effect of treatment time on OS and LC. Matched-pair analysis was performed to isolate any independent effect of time on OS and LC of day while controlling for confounding variables. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristics analysis identified a cut-point of 11:41 AM as providing the highest predictive value for OS. On univariate analysis, late SRS was associated with decreased OS, as was age, Karnofsky performance status, risk-stratification schemes, extracranial disease status, and overall burden of brain metastases. On univariate analysis for LC, late SRS was associated with decreased LC, as was burden of brain metastases. On multivariate analysis, only Graded Prognostic Assessment remained predictive of OS, and total number of targets and total tumor volume remained predictive of LC. Matched-pair analysis demonstrated no significant effect of time of day on LC or OS. CONCLUSIONS: Although earlier treatment appears to be associated with improved LC and OS, treatment time fails to remain significant when accounting for confounding variables. Cancer 2013;119:3563-9. V C 2013 American Cancer Society.KEYWORDS: Gamma Knife; radiosurgery; chronobiology; non-small cell lung cancer; circadian rhythm; time of day; survival; local control; brain metastases.
INTRODUCTIONThe brain is one of the most common sites of metastases, occurring in 20% to 50% of patients with lung cancer. Multiple treatment options exist for the management of brain metastases, including surgery, whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT), stereotactic radiosurgery, or combinations thereof. One-year local control (LC) after radiosurgery ranges from 67% to 90%.1-4 Established factors predicting for improved LC after radiosurgery include smaller tumor size, nonradioresistant histology, and the addition of WBRT.5-7 Predictors of overall survival (OS) include Recursive Partitioning Analysis (RPA), Score Index for Radiosurgery (SIR), and the newer Graded Prognostic Assessment (GPA) indices, which account for the effects of age, performance status, extracranial disease status, and now number of brain metastases and histology.