termsTerm
Whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT)
aka WBRT, whole-brain, whole-brain radiation, whole brain radiotherapy, hippocampal-avoidance
Irradiating the entire brain to treat many metastases at once; effective but it dulls memory, so it is used less than it used to be.
Once routine for any brain metastasis, WBRT (typically 30 Gy in 10 fractions) is now reserved for numerous or leptomeningeal metastases when SRS is impractical, because randomised trials showed no survival gain over SRS alone and clear neurocognitive harm. Hippocampal-avoidance planning and memantine (NRG CC001) reduce the decline. In small-cell lung cancer, prophylactic cranial irradiation is a related low-dose whole-brain treatment now being replaced by MRI surveillance.
Category
Procedures