Brain metastasis from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a clinical review of 30 cases.

This study aimed to retrospectively evaluate the treatment strategies and possible prognostic factors in patients with brain metastases (BMs) from esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). We retrospectively reviewed 30 patients with BMs from ESCC who were treated at our center between November 2011 and January 2022. Clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcomes were analyzed. The median follow-up time was 2 (range, 0.5-33) months. The median survival time after diagnosis of BMs was 2 months. The 1-year overall survival (OS) rate was 13.6%. The OS was better in patients with intracranial benefit. Multivariate analysis showed that local treatment of BMs influenced OS. The median survival with or without local treatment of BMs was 4 and 1 month, respectively. The median time interval between the diagnosis of the primary tumor and BMs was 11 (range, 1-156) months. Among these BMs, 55.6% of the BM occurred within the first year after diagnosis of the primary tumor, 66.7% in the first 2 years, and 85.2% in the first 3 years. The median time interval from lung metastasis to BMs was 3 months, from liver metastasis to BMs 3.5 months, and from bone metastasis to BMs 0.5 months. Local treatment of BMs was an independent prognostic factor for patients with BMs from ESCC. Earlier detection followed by an aggressive local therapeutic approach for BMs had a great influence on treatment outcomes as well as the long-term prognosis and quality of life for appropriately selected patients.