Effects Of Comprehensive Treatment On Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients With Brain Metastases

[Objective]:To study the survival time, survival rate, and adverse effects of patients through a retrospective analysis of the clinical data of 59 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with brain metastases admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery of Yunnan Provincial Tumor Hospital from Feb.2010 to Feb.2013, and to analyze and evaluate the best treatment strategy for lung cancer patients with brain metastases, providing an optimal treatment model for the future treatment of NSCLC patients with brain metastases.[Methods]:Fifty-nine NSCLC patients with brain metastases admitted to the Department of Neurosurgery of Yunnan Provincial Tumor Hospital from Feb.2010 to Feb.2013 were selected as the research subjects, and were randomly divided into comprehensive treatment group (n=30) and conventional treatment group (n=29); patients in the conventional treatment group were treated with whole-brain radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy; for patients in the comprehensive treatment group, successive surgical resections of brain metastases and primary lung lesions were performed according to the presence/absence of symptoms of their nervous systems, followed by postoperative chemotherapy and whole-brain radiotherapy. Then the survival time, survival rate, and adverse effects of the two groups were observed and compared. The data obtained were statistically analyzed using SPSS 19.0 software, and data were expressed in different ways according to the different types, of which measurement data were expressed as standard deviation (x±s) with t-test; numeration data were expressed as(%) with x2 test. The p value was obtained by comparison between groups, and P<0.05 was considered to be of statistical significance.[Results]:The survival time, survival rate, and adverse effects for the patients in the two groups were followed up and it was found that the mean survival time of the comprehensive treatment group was 19.64±1.68 months versus the traditional treatment group of 1.6±1.58 months, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (t=8.5666; P<0.05); 1-,2-, and 3-year survival rates of the comprehensive treatment group were 90.0%,46.7%, and 20.0%, respectively; those of the conventional treatment group were 65.5%,20.7%, and 3.4%,respectively. The differences between groups were statistically significant (P< 0.05). Adverse effects and tolerance abilities were observed during the process of treatments for the two groups and a small amount of adverse effects, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and infections, occurred in patients of both groups, but patients of the comprehensive treatment group showed better tolerance, and the difference between groups was not statistically significant (P>0.05).[Conclusion]:The efficacy of the comprehensive treatment for the NSCLC patients with brain metastases, if physically possible, is better than the conventional treatment, and a longer mean survival time as well as a significantly higher survival rate were found when compared with the patients in the conventional treatment group. This treatment strategy may improve the prognosis of NSCLC patients with brain metastases and is worthy of clinical use.