The Effect of Brain Metastases on the Life of the Patient
Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and brain metastases have an unfavourable prognosis1 and may develop neurological symptoms that result in a significant reduction in QoL.2
Neurological symptoms associated with brain metastases include headache, focal weakness or numbness, and seizures.3 Furthermore, brain metastases are associated with impaired cognition, including deficits in verbal memory, attention, executive functioning, and language.
Patients with brain metastases may experience psychological symptoms including anxiety and depression.2
Presence of brain metastases in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer is associated with a 5-fold increased incidence of death compared with patients without brain metastases.4
HER2-targeted therapies have improved survival outcomes in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. However, as many systemic therapies have limited activity in the brain, the development of brain metastases in these patients is about 30-50%.5,7
References
Cai SL, Wang ZH, Chen XG, et al. Risk Factors of Brain Metastasis and Prognosis in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: A Single-Institution Retrospective Analysis from China [published correction appears in Front Oncol. 2022 Sep 20;12:1027199]. Front Oncol. 2022;12:905065. Published 2022 Jun 27. doi:10.3389/fonc.2022.905065
Gerstenecker A, Nabors LB, Meneses K, et al. Cognition in patients with newly diagnosed brain metastasis: profiles and implications. J Neurooncol. 2014;120(1):179-185. doi:10.1007/s11060-014-1543-x
Agostinetto E, Masci G, Giordano L, et al. HER2-positive breast cancer and CNS metastases: Prognostic factors and clinical outcome. Ann Oncol. 2019;30(186P):supplement iii60. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdz100.037
Witzel I, Laakmann E, Weide R, et al. Treatment and outcomes of patients in the Brain Metastases in Breast Cancer Network Registry. Eur J Cancer. 2018;102:1-9. doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2018.07.004
Saha A et al. Demographic and clinical profile of patients with brain metastases: A retrospective study. Asian J Neurosurg. 2013 Jul;8(3):157-61.
Darlix A et al. Impact of breast cancer molecular subtypes on the incidence, kinetics and prognosis of central nervous system metastases in a large multicentre real-life cohort. Br J Cancer. 2019 Dec;121(12):991-1000
Job Code: UK/BC/2023/0027 Date of Preparation: November 2023
