Current Neurosurgical Management of Brain Metastases

Brain metastases occur in a third of patients diagnosed with cancer; without any intervention, the prognosis is quite poor with a median survival of 1 month. Because of the constraints of the blood-brain barrier, chemotherapy is not effective and treatment options include surgery, whole brain radiation, or stereotactic radiation. This chapter is devoted to a review of the current management options for treatment of brain metastases.