# QUARTZ

Source: https://onco.cc/trials/quartz/  
OnCo record `quartz` (Trial). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

QUARTZ found that whole-brain radiotherapy added nothing measurable, in survival or quality of life, for lung cancer patients whose brain metastases could not be treated with surgery or radiosurgery.

## Summary

QUARTZ randomised 538 patients with non-small-cell lung cancer and brain metastases unsuitable for resection or stereotactic radiosurgery to optimal supportive care with dexamethasone, with or without whole-brain radiotherapy (20 Gy in five fractions). Quality-adjusted life-years (46.4 vs 41.7 days) and overall survival (9.2 vs 8.5 weeks) did not differ meaningfully (Mulvenna and colleagues, Lancet 2016). The result restrained the routine use of whole-brain radiotherapy in patients with poor performance status.

## Fields

- Kind: Trial
- Status: negative
- Last checked: 2026-09-16
- Tags: radiation-wave2
- Phase: 3
- Setting: Non-small-cell lung cancer with brain metastases unsuitable for surgery or radiosurgery: whole-brain radiotherapy plus supportive care versus supportive care alone
- Sponsor: Medical Research Council (UK)
- Enrolled: 538
- Result: Quality-adjusted life-years 46.4 vs 41.7 days; overall survival 9.2 vs 8.5 weeks; no meaningful benefit from whole-brain radiotherapy.

## Sources

- ISRCTN3826061: https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN3826061
- Lancet 2016: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30825-X

## Connected records

- cancers: [Brain and spinal cord tumours (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/brain-tumours/), [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/)
- technologies: [Early integrated palliative care](https://onco.cc/technologies/palliative-care/), [Palliative radiotherapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/palliative-radiotherapy/)
- drugs: [Dexamethasone](https://onco.cc/drugs/dexamethasone/)
- terms: [Whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT)](https://onco.cc/terms/wbrt/)

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