Characteristics and Treatments of Large Cystic Brain Metastasis: Radiosurgery and Stereotactic Aspiration

Brain metastasis represents one of the most common causes of intracranial tumors in adults, and the incidence of brain metastasis continues to rise due to the increasing survival of cancer patients. Yet, the development of cystic brain metastasis remains a relatively rare occurrence. In this review, we describe the characteristics of cystic brain metastasis and evaluate the combined use of stereotactic aspiration and radiosurgery in treating large cystic brain metastasis. The results of several studies show that stereotactic radiosurgery produces comparable local tumor control and survival rates as other surgery protocols. When the size of the tumor interferes with radiosurgery, stereotactic aspiration of the metastasis should be considered to reduce the target volume as well as decreasing the chance of radiation induced necrosis and providing symptomatic relief from mass effect. The combined use of stereotactic aspiration and radiosurgery has strong implications in improving patient outcomes.