Different types of cancers are likely to spread to specific areas of the
brain

Date:
September 23, 2021
Source:
University of Southern California - Health Sciences
Summary:
Brain metastasis occurs when cancer in one part of the body
spreads to the brain. The lifetime incidence of such metastatic
brain tumors in cancer patients is between 20%-45%, research shows.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Brain metastasis occurs when cancer in one part of the body spreads to
the brain. The lifetime incidence of such metastatic brain tumors in
cancer patients is between 20%-45%, research shows.


==========================================================================
A new study from USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Keck
Medicine of USC, suggests that the region cancer spreads to in the
brain may not be random, but rather, is dependent on where the cancer originated in the body.

"We discovered that different types of cancer are more likely to show
up in specific parts of the brain once they metastasize, indicating
the location of tumors follow a distinct pattern," said Gabriel Zada,
MD, a brain and tumor neurosurgeon with Keck Medicine of USC and senior
author of the study. He is also a member of USC Norris and director of
the USC Brain Tumor Center.

Zada and colleagues analyzed the location of brain tumors caused by
five common types of cancer -- melanoma (a type of skin cancer), lung,
breast, renal (kidney) and colorectal. They discovered that lung cancer
and melanoma showed a higher likelihood for the metastasis to be at the
frontal and temporal lobes (which sit behind the ears). Breast, renal
and colon cancers had a higher propensity to spread to the back of the
brain, such as the cerebellum and brainstem.

The findings are important not only because they may predict where a
specific cancer may spread in the brain, but because they also have implications for how brain tumors grow.

"It may be that cancer cells have the ability to adapt to regional microenvironments in the brain that allow them to colonize and progress,
while other areas of the brain are inhospitable to the same cells,"
said Josh Neman, PhD, assistant professor of neurological surgery and physiology and neuroscience at the Keck School of Medicine of USC,
scientific director of the USC Brain Tumor Center and lead author of
the study. He is also a member of USC Norris.



==========================================================================
To reach their conclusions, the researchers collected data from patients
with metastatic brain cancer treated using stereotactic radiosurgery
(SRS), a minimally invasive, targeted form of radiosurgery used to treat
brain tumors and other lesions. The SRS allows surgeons to define the coordinates of a tumor in the brain with precise accuracy.

The researchers used the SRS coordinates from 970 patients with
approximately 3,200 brain metastatic tumors arising from skin, lung,
breast, kidney or colon cancers treated at Keck Medical Center of USC from 1994-2015. They created two predictive mathematical models to analyze the
exact locations of brain metastases based on the primary cancer origins.

One model showed that distinct regions of the brain were relatively
susceptible to certain types of cancer; another provided the probability
of each cancer metastasizing in certain brain regions. Both models
resulted in the approximate same results as to which areas of the brain
were most likely to develop cancer- specific tumors.

The researchers believe the results of the study could be useful in the eventual prevention and treatment of brain tumors.

"If we can understand what factors either facilitate or block the
process of metastasis, such as certain chemicals or neurotransmitters
in the brain, there might be a way to intervene and prevent a cancer
from metastasizing in the first place or treat it once it has spread,"
Neman said. "In fact, we are already conducting studies to learn why
certain areas of the brain are not receptive to certain cancer cells in
hopes of developing better targeted therapies for patients." Zada and
Neman are currently using the data from this study to participate in
an international trial involving multiple sites to further study the
patterns of brain metastasis based on primary cancer type.

"We are excited to see what new information this larger study will yield
in our efforts to better understand and treat this complication of so
many common cancers," said Zada.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Southern_California_-_Health_Sciences.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Josh Neman, Meredith Franklin, Zachary Madaj, Krutika Deshpande,
Timothy
J. Triche, Gal Sadlik, John D Carmichael, Eric Chang, Cheng Yu,
Ben A Strickland, Gabriel Zada. Use of predictive spatial modeling
to reveal that primary cancers have distinct central nervous system
topography patterns of brain metastasis. Journal of Neurosurgery,
2021; 1 DOI: 10.3171/2021.1.JNS203536 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210923082930.htm

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