Background: Surgical resection in combination with radiotherapy in selected cases remains the best option for patients with cerebral metastases. Postoperative relapse of brain metastases occurs frequently and can be reduced by postoperative whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT). Continuous spread of tumor cells from the primary lesions is debated as a cause of recurrence. It is well known that in gliomas, infiltration takes place within the surrounding edema. Obviously, most brain metastases are usually associated with peritumoral edema, which may act as an indicator of infiltration and more aggressive tumor biology. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the correlation of tumor and edema volumes with overall survival in patients with cerebral metastases. Patients and Methods: A total of 143 patients diagnosed with brain metastasis (male:female=1.1:1) who underwent surgical resection were included retrospectively in this analysis. Clinical data were retrieved from electronic patient files. The volumes of tumor and edema calculated by manual delineation. The ratio of edema to tumor volume was calculated, leading to dichotomization of the patients. Results: The median tumor volume was 20.1 cc (range=0.8-90.8 cc) and the median volume of edema 49.5 cc (range=0-179.9 cc). The volume of metastases did not significantly correlate with overall survival. The ratio of edema to tumor volume was also not a prognostic factor in terms of overall survival. Only surgical resection, preoperative recursive partitioning analysis class, and postoperative addition of WBRT, as well as female sex, demonstrated beneficial effects. Conclusion: The extent of edema surrounding cerebral metastases does not appear to influence overall survival in patients suffering from brain metastases, although it seems to be responsible for most of the patients' symptoms. The hypothesis that the extent of edema was disadvantageous concerning survival was supported by our data.
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