Complete response of brain metastases to irinotecan-based chemotherapy

Brain metastases occur in 15-20% of patients with cancer and are generally associated with an overall poor prognosis. Currently, radiotherapy and surgery are the mainstay of palliative therapy for patients with brain metastases, while the role of systemic chemotherapy remains uncertain. In this article, we report complete responses to irinotecan-based chemotherapy in three patients with brain metastases from parotid adenocarcinoma, esophageal adenocarcinoma and small cell lung cancer. Irinotecan-based chemotherapy may hold promise in treating patients with brain metastases. Further studies are warranted to confirm our observations.