Management of Melanoma Brain Metastases (MBM)

Management of malignant malignant malignant malignant melanoma consciousness Metastases (MBM)Abstract melanoma is the third intimately common go of mindset metastases, after lung and breast cannistercer. Common clinical manifestations include headache, neurologic deficits, cognitive impairment and ictuss. The management of melanoma witticism metastases (MBM) can be broadly divided into symptom deem and curative st measuregies. Supportive intervention includes corticosteroids to reduce peritumoral edema, antiepileptics for seizure control and medications to preserve cognitive function. Until belatedly the therapeutic st directgies foc utilize on local anaesthetic anesthetic manipulation including mental process, whole top dog radiation therapy therapy (WBRT), and stereotactic radiation (SRS). Historic onlyy, organizationic therapy has had hold utility. immun otherwiseapeutic drugs like anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) and anti-programmed c ell death protein 1 (PD1) and agents targeting BRAF- MEK pathway stupefy revolutionized the general intercession of MBM. youthful clinical psychometric tests with these agents gift shown activity against MBM and increasingly being used in clinical practice. In this article, we will discuss epidemiology, biology of MBM and the determination of surgery, WBRT, SRS in this patient population. An everyplaceview of the actually gettable general therapeutic agents that includes immu nonherapy and targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and a concrete multidisciplinary management algorithm to guide the practicing oncologist will be outlined.Introduction juvenile advances in the management of advanced melanoma expect resulted in modify 5-year choice pass judgment, however, MBM remain a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. just about 20% of metastatic melanoma patients cast off oral sex metastases at diagnosis. boilersuit about 50% of set up IV melanoma pati ents will word symptomatic adept metastases (1-3). Cerebral hemispheres atomic number 18 the site of 80% of champion lesions from melanoma followed by the cerebellum (15%) and brainstem (5%)(4).Common clinical manifestations include headache, neurologic deficits, cognitive impairment and seizures. Until of late, patients with MBM had a dismal prognosis with a median(a) general option (OS) of 6 months (5).The management of MBM can be broadly divided into supportive management and therapeutic strategies. Supportive word includes steroids to reduce peritumoral edema, antiepileptics for seizure control and medications to preserve cognitive function. Traditionally, therapeutic strategies focused on local treatment including surgery, WBRT, and SRS. Historically, systemic therapy has had particular utility in the management of MBM. However, the treatment paradigm has changed considerably with the coming of targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Approximately 50% of advanced melan oma patients harbor a BRAF magnetic declination and a b lay off of targeted agents for this mutation and downriver pathway present shown promise in the management of metastatic melanoma. Immunotherapeutic agents like anti- CTLA-4 and anti- PD-1 shake off shown clinical efficacy in MBM and now arrive at kickoff line treatment options for metastatic melanoma.Biology of brain metastasesUntil belatedly MBM were believed to have the highest mutational discordance compared to the primary coil site (6). However, Chen et al. inform molecular profiling that include hot spot mutations, global informational RNA expression patterns, quantitative compend of protein expression and activation by backsliding protein array (RPPA) analysis of 16 patients (7). In this training, authors report pad harmony in mutational profile between intracranial and extracranial sites. Despite these similarities life-and-death disagreeences in the expression of PI3K/AKT pathway were notable by RPPA. Another national compared the expression of BRAF mutation in opposite sites of metastases in advanced melanoma and showed greater mutational concordance (16/20 patients) in brain compared to other visceral/subcutaneous metastases (8). These studies provide an initial rationality of the molecular characteristics of MBM.With the advent of immunotherapy, tumor microenvironment and immune infiltration has been a focus of in ecstasyse research. Brain has been traditionally thought of as an immune privileged organ muchover recent studies have established the existence of a neuro-immune axis and questi hotshotd this belief(9). Our understanding of this unique interplay between the immune system and central nervous system has dramatically evolved over time. Berghoff et al. investigated the expression of PD-1, PD-L1, CD3, CD8, CD45RO, forkhead box protein 3 (FoxP3), CD20, and BRAF V600E by immunohistochemistry in MBM samples (10). Varying degrees of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs ) were report in this deal, 33 out of 43 specimens stained positive for CD3(+) T-lymphocytes, 39 for CD8(+) T-lymphocytes, 32 for CD45RO (+)memory T-lymphocytes, 27 for PD-1(+), 21 for FoxP3(+) T regulatory lymphocytes, and 19 for CD20(+) lymphocytes. Significant tumoral PD-L1 expression (5%) was observed in 9 specimens while 22 samples stained positive for PD-L1 suggesting role of immunotherapeutic agents in MBM.Prognostic indicesAlthough the median OS of MBM is dismal, approximately 5% patients are large term survivors(2). Hence prognostic factors that predict outcomes and can guide the treatment decisions and enrollment in clinical examinations are of value. Several large individual(a) center series have examined various primary tumor, brain metastases, and patient characteristics prognosticative of endurance (2, 11, 12). Age, performance status, number of brain metastases, extra-cranial metastases, time from primary tumor diagnosis, presence of neurologic symptoms and eleva ted LDH are factors that determine survival. (13).Sperduto et al proposed a youthful ailment basedscoring index based on 483 saucily diagnosed MBM patients from 8 different centers (14). On multivariate analysis, performance status and number of BMs were prognostic for survival in MBM. The outcomes of ds-GPA MBM varied from GPA class I with survival of 3.4 months to GPA class IV with survival of 13.2 months.These prognostic indices have inherent limitations. All of them were evaluated retrospectively, had only overall survival as the end point, did not include molecular and genetic profile of the primary malignancy, and did not take systemic therapy into consideration (15). A large single institutional experience of 366 patients inured to 1,336 brain metastases has also shed some lax on the interplay of important prognostic variables in patients with MBM. In this series, characteristics associated with survival include younger age, lack of extracranial metastases, performance st atus, and treatment with BRAF inhibitors or immunotherapies. This work specifically highlights the importance of modern out outcomes in patients who are eligible for and convey newer targeted therapies. For example, the 12-month survival estimate for patients hardened with BRAF inhibitors was 37% compared to 23% for those patients who did not assimilate these therapies (p=0.01). Moreover, the 12-month survival estimate for patients inured with immunotherapies was 47% compared to 22% for those patients who did not imbibe these therapies (p=0.04). Clearly, further work is needed to define the impact of mutation, targeted drugs and immunotherapy in the current era.Diagnosis The neurologic symptoms associated with brain metastases include headaches, seizures, cranial nerve deficits to get or sensory deficits. All melanoma patients with neurologic symptoms worrisome for MBM should suffer a gadolinium enhanced magnetic resonance visualize (MRI) of the brain, if no contraindication s exist. Guidelines recommend routine MRI of brain with and without gadolinium contrast for patients with stage IV melanoma due to the high prevalence of asymptomatic brain metastases(16). Computed tomography of brain with and without contrast can be used as an alternate imaging.ManagementThe options available for management of brain metastases include surgery, WBRT, SRS, systemic therapy and symptom management. The management plan to treat these patients should take into account the overall prognosis, performance status and morbidity associated with the treatment.5.1 Management of symptoms Supportive allot for patients with brain metastases is typically to control the cerebral edema with steroids. Due to minimalmineralocorticoid effect and farsighted half-life, dexamethasone is the steroid of choice, however, other steroids at an equivalent dose can be used and tapered gradually over a 2 week period(17). A randomized exam in 1990s compared different doses of dexamethasone rang ing from 4 mg/ twenty-four hours to 16 mg/day and concluded that 4-8 mg/day would provide same degree of clinical improvement in 1 week (18). Routine use of hindrance anti-epileptics in patients with brain metastases is not recommended(19). When patients have seizures several(prenominal) anti-epileptics are available including phenytoin, carbamazepine, valproic acid and levetiracetam. Non-enzyme inducing agents like levetiracetam are preferred to avoid interactions with systemic agents. 5.2 Neurosurgical Options Surgery has traditionally been used for management of solitary brain metastases, or large symptomatic brain lesions. Multiple retrospective studies have reported alter survival with surgery compared to best supportive care(13, 20-22). Younger patients with life-threatening performance status, fairly well-control guide extracranial disease, solitary brain metastasis, lesions in accessible locations and of comminuted size generally have better outcomes with surgery (21, 23 ). Surgery is usually followed by radiation boost to the surgical bed by all WBRT or SRS, with an intention of sterilizing the surrounding tissues and preventing local recurrence. Two randomized trials analyse adjuvant WBRT to surgery only if have shown improvement in outcomes(24, 25). Patchell et al. evaluated the role of WBRT post-resection of a single brain metastasis compared to surgery alone(25). Postoperative WBRT resulted in a significant reduction in local and distant intracranial failure. However, no difference in the overall survival or time duration of functional independence was storied. Similar results were seen in the EORTC 22952-26001 record with decreased 2-year intracranial and resection site recurrence without significant survival eudaemonia. Multiple retrospective reports of post-operative SRS have shown improved patient outcomes however potential data is awaited (26, 27). Bindal et al. showed benefit of resection in select group with multiple metastases in a retrospective review of 56 patients(28). In practice, surgery plays an important role in debulking or removal of life-threatening lesions. Surgery also provides immediate accompaniment from intracranial hypertension by eliminating the mass effect, and symptomatic hydrocephalus by reestablishing the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).5.3 Whole brain radiation therapyMelanoma brain metastases lesions are generally considered radio-resistant compared to other histologies (29). Randomized trials with WBRT have reported survival in the range of 2.4 to 4.8 months.(30) The ideal dose and number of fractions, equilibrize the intracranial control and cognitive decline, has been subject to intense debate. WBRT fraction sizes of 3 Gy do not lead to significant neuro-cognitive decline. A retrospective study compared higher dose of radiation, 40 Gy in 20 fractions with 30 Gy in 10 fractions(31). The 40 Gy group had overall survival of 5.6 months compared to 3.1 months. However most of the se trials were not melanoma specific and include patients with all tumor types. Patients who are symptomatic with change in mentation, headaches and seizures tho are deemed unfit for surgery or SRS due to large number of metastases, poor performance and masterless extracranial metastases are generally treated with WBRT(32).5.4 Stereotactic radiation therapyStereotactic radiation has been increasingly used in the management of MBM in the last two decades. SRS in MBM results in local control rates of 50-75% at 1 year(33-35). SRS is generally limited to lesions smaller than 4 cm in diameter (36). In a retrospective review of 333 patients treated with SRS showed a sustained tumor control rate of 73%(35). The 12-month cumulative incidence of local failure was 14% in another single institution experience of 191 patients treated to 793 MBM. bend of brain metastases that can be treated with SRS has been intensely investigated. SRS for solitary brain metastasis was compared to surgery plu s WBRT in a contour III trial that closed prematurely due to poor accrual. The overall survival, freedom from local recurrence and neurological death rates were similar in twain(prenominal) groups(37). Several studies have evaluated the role of SRS in patients with 1-3 brain metastases (38, 39). Aoyama et al. compared SRS alone with SRS followed by WBRT in patients with 1-4 brain metastases(38). No difference in neurocognitive function and survival was observed. SRS-alone arm had increased local and distant intracranial failure. A mannequin III trial compared WBRT followed by SRS to WBRT alone, in 333 patients with 1-3 brain metastases from different histologies that included only 13 MBM patents (40). Performance status at six months improved significantly with addition of SRS to WBRT. SRS for patients with 5-10 brain lesions was evaluated in a multi-institution prospective experimental Japanese study of 1194 patients(41). The overall survival, neuro-cognitive function and post SRS complications did not differ for patients with 5-10 brain lesions compared to 2-4 brain lesions(42).5.5 Systemic therapyTraditional systemic therapy had a limited role in MBM due to challenges of drug delivery in the brain from blood brain barrier (BBB) with its tight junctions and efflux pumps (P-gp and MRP transport proteins) (43). The sentiment of localized disruption of BBB at the site of brain metastases has been proposed, as exhibit on MRI by contrast sweetening (44).ChemotherapyChemotherapy agents have not shown good activity in MBM. Dacarbazine which is the canonical chemotherapy for metastatic melanoma does not cross the BBB(45). A number of studies evaluated the role of alkylating agents with good BBB penetration much(prenominal) as temozolomide (TMZ), lomustine and fotemustine in MBM patients. In a stage II trial Agarwala et al. enrolled 151 MBM patients with no local radiation therapy for BM to receive TMZ (46). TMZ use showed a modest intracranial solvent of 6%, median PFS of 4.3-5.2 weeks and median OS of 3.2 months. Two phase II trials of WBRT with TMZ(47, 48) or thalidomide, WBRT with TMZ (49) failed to improve the chemical reaction rates significantly. Lomustine in combination with TMZ showed modest efficacy in a phase I/II study(50). Intracranial activity of fotemustine was first reported in a phase III trial of fotemustine versus dacarbazine for metastatic melanoma (51). This led to a randomized phase III trial that compared fotemustine plus WBRT to fotemustine alone in MBM (52). The repartee rates were 7.4% for fotemustine alone and 10% for fotemustine plus WBRT. Fotemustine is not shortly approved by FDA for use in MBM due to delay thrombocytopenia and leukopenia(53).Targeted therapyBRAF, NRAS and KIT are three common, mutually exclusive device driver mutations seen in metastatic melanoma (54, 55). Of these three, BRAF mutation is the most common mutation seen in approximately 40-50% of patients with advanced melanoma. The pre sence of BRAF, NRAS increases the risk of CNS metastases seen in patients with advanced melanoma. Prior studies have reported 24% CNS metastases rate in BRAF and 23% CNS metastases incidence in NRAS summercater melanoma compared to 12% rate in those who lack these mutations(56). Dabrafenib and vemurafenib target BRAF V600 mutation and FDA approved for metastatic melanoma.A phase I trial of dabrafenib in ten patients with untreated asymptomatic brain metastases, intracranial response was seen in 8 patients (four CR, four PR) (57). This impressive 80% response rate prompted the phase II trial of dabrafenib in BRAF mutant melanoma brain metastases (BREAK-MB) (58). This multicenter open strike out study accrued 172 patients asymptomatic brain metastases with BRAFV600E or BRAFV600K mutation and one measurable lesion (defined as atleast 1 cm in diameter). Cohort A consisted of 89 patients who were radiation naive and age bracket B consisted of 83 patients who had failed anterior radiat ion therapy for BM. BRAFV600E patients had an intracranial response rate (IRR) of 39% (29/74) in age bracket A and 31% (20/65) in cohort B, PFS of 16.1 weeks in cohort A and 16.6 weeks in cohort B with OS of 33.1 weeks in cohort A and 31.4 weeks in cohort B. BRAFV600K patients had a lower IRR of 7%(1/15) in cohort A and 22% (4/18) in cohort B. This trial supports the efficacy of dabrafenib in BRAF mutant MBM patients, especially those with BRAFV600E mutations with acceptable toxicity.In an open label study of 24 non-resectable, untreated MBM patients harboring BRAFV600 mutation, treatment with vemurafenib resulted in tumor regression of more than 30% (7/19)and partial response was seen in 3 patients. Median PFS and OS was 3.9 and 5.3 months respectively in this study. In a phase II study, 146 BRAF mutant MBM patients were treated with vemurafenib(59). The first cohort included 90 patients with untreated BM, the scrap cohort comprised of 56 patients with antecedently treated BM. C omplete response was mention in 2 patients, with 14 PRs, and a best objective response rate of 18%. In previously untreated MBM, the median intracranial PFS and OS were 3.7 months and 8.9 months respectively. Previously treated MBM had similar PFS and OS of 4.0 months and 9.6 months respectively.There is no prospective data of safety and efficacy of combination of BRAF inhibitors and radiation therapy. well-nigh reports are retrospective in nature with increased incidence of dermatitis seen in extracranial skin associated with coincidental use of BRAF inhibitors and radiation (60). Rompoti et al. reported five patients with MBM treated with combined radiation and BRAF inhibitor(61). Two patients underwent SRS and three received WBRT. Patients treated with SRS did not experience any skin adverse effects while all three patients treated with WBRT noted invest1/2 dermatitis. A retrospective analysis evaluated effectiveness of vemurafenib and radiation in BRAFV600 MBM (62). All of t hem received vemurafenib, six patients underwent SRS, two received WBRT, one received SRS and WBRT and three underwent surgery and radiation. Thirty-six of the 48 index lesions responded with 23 (48%) CRs and 13(27%) PRs. Major limitations were the retrospective nature of the study, small number, and pretreated patients with radiation and systemic therapy including ipilimumab. Several small retrospective case series have reported outcomes of MBM treated with targeted agents and SRS/WBRT (Table-1). A recent study of 19 patients with BRAF mutations undergoing SRS and concurrent BRAF directed therapies has shown impressively few local failures (12-month cumulative incidence of 1%). Additional studies of combination therapy are clearly warranted.ImmunotherapyMelanoma is an immunogenic malignancy (63) with a high mutational burden that results in high number of neo-antigen(64). It has been proposed that the comparatively high neo-antigen burden makes this malignancy more susceptible to i mmunotherapy. However, the brain has traditionally been considered an immunologically privileged site due to the presence of the BBB. Recent studies on the intracranial tumor microenvironment as elucidated above have suggested otherwise, showing CD8 T-cells, CD 20+ cells, T-regulator cells and PD-L1 expression within intracranial tumor(10).The intracranial activity of interleukin-2 (IL-2, one of the first immune modulatory agents) was reported in two retrospective reviews(65, 66). A response rate of 5.6% was seen in 37 patients with untreated brain metastases within a big group of 1069 metastatic melanoma and renal cell carcinoma patients treated with high dose IL-2(65). In a second report, two of the 15 brain metastases patients treated with high dose IL-2 showed CR (66). No prospective trials were initiated with high dose IL-2 due to concerns for cerebral edema and neurotoxicity.Two pathways that have revolutionized the management of advanced melanoma are those involving CTLA-4 a nd PD-1/PD-L1. The CTLA-4 receptor is expressed wholly on T-cells and downregulates the interaction between antigen presenting cells and T-cells. Ipilimumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody antibody against the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4)(67). The pivotal phase III trial that compared ipilimumab with or without gp one C peptide vaccine to gp 100 vaccine as a single agent allowed enrollment of patients with asymptomatic and/or previously treated MBM (68). A non-significant trend towards better survival in the MBM subgroup was noted among the patients treated with either ipilimumab alone or ipilimumab plus gp 100 compared to gp 100 alone(69). In an expanded access program (EAP) in Italy, 146 MBM patients received ipilimumab and a global response rate of 12% was seen (70). An American EAP reported a 1-year overall survival rate of 20% among clxv MBM patients treated with ipilimumab (71). Margolin et al. conducted an open label phase II clinical trial of ipilimumab for MBM (72). The trial enrolled 72 patients 51 patients in cohort A (those who were not on steroids for cerebral edema) and cohort B of 21 patients (on treatment with steroids). harmonise to the WHO criteria, the response rate was 18% (9/51) in cohort A compared to 5% (1/21) in cohort B, and by immune-related response criteria the response rate was 25% (12/51) in cohort A and 10% (2/21) in cohort B. The median OS was 7.0 months and 3.7 months in cohort A and cohort B respectively. The study concluded that ipilimumab can be used safely in MBM patients. An Italian phase II trial tested a combination of ipilimumab and fotemustine in patients with advanced melanoma including asymptomatic MBM patients (73). A total of 20 patients (out of 83 patients) had asymptomatic MBM, and among these patients the study reported a PFS of 3.0 months and 3-year OS rate of 27.8% (74). A randomized, 3 arm, phase III trial of fotemustine, versus fotemustine plus ipilimumab, versus ipilimumab p lus nivolumab (NIBIT-M2) is currently recruiting patients (75). Several retrospective studies have evaluated the safety of combining ipilimumab and radiation therapy (SRS or WBRT), and prospective trial data is forthcoming (76-78).PD-1 receptors are expressed on several cells including T-cells and antigen presenting cells. Their interaction with PD-L1 ligands on tumor cells leads to T-cell exhaustion and downregulation of tumor-specific immune response(79). Nivolumab and pembrolizumab are two anti-PD-1 antibodies that are currently approved for the management of advanced melanoma, and several others are under evaluation. An open label, single-center, phase II clinical trial is currently enrolling patients with untreated brain metastases from melanoma or non-small cell lung crabby person (80). In a published early analysis, a response rate of 22% (4 patients) was reported in a total of 18 MBM patients and the responses were stable. Authors noted a high concordance between systemic and brain metastasis responses. Additionally, 11% (2 patients) had stable disease. Intriguingly all responders lacked a BRAF mutation. Relatedly, 4 patients were not evaluable either due to rapid progression necessitating BRAF-targeted therapy (3 patients), or intralesional hemorrhage (1 patient). Toxicities in the MBM cohort included grade 3 transaminitis (1 patient), as well as grade 1-2 seizures (3 patients) and grade 3 cognitive dysfunction (1 patient) from peritumoral edema.Leptomeningeal disease in melanomaLeptomeningeal disease (LMD) is a subset of metastatic with extraordinarily poor prognosis and median survival of 8 weeks(81, 82). About 5% of malignant LMD originates from melanoma (Kesari) and up to 23% of melanoma cases develop LMD(1, 83). Primary leptomeningeal melanoma also exists as a separate clinical entity and should be a consideration in the context of use of a person with multiple congenital melanocytic nevi(84). Diagnosis of LMD is usually make based on the comb ination of neurologic symptoms along with corresponding leptomeningeal enhancement on MRI. While cytology from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is considered to be the gold measure for LMD diagnosis, sensitivity of this testing ranges from 50% to 80%, depending on number of lumbar punctures performed (85). Like with MBM, treatment of LMD with chemotherapy has low response rates(86). The clinical course of LMD is more treacherous in melanoma in other malignancies given the disposition for melanoma LMD to hemorrhage(87). Molecular characterization of melanoma LMD suggests a higher destiny of BRAF mutations in comparison to the general melanoma population (68% v 45%), based on a single center melanoma LMD cohort of 60 patients(76). Several case reports have been published highlighting complete and partial responses as well as prolonged ongoing survival beyond 15-18 months with BRAF inhibitors (86). Immunotherapy approaches, including intrathecal IL-2, adoptive cell therapies with tumor infi ltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs), and immune checkpoint inhibitors, have also reported prolonged survival in comparison to historic medians (86). A single center study of 38 patients with melanoma LMD who were treated with intrathecal IL-2 reported a median survival of 9.1 months, and the best 15% of patients reached a median survival over 24 months(88). Ongoing survival over 18 months in a melanoma LMD case was reported with WBRT followed by ipilimumab, an immune checkpoint CTLA-4 inhibitor in this case, treatment with ipililumab resulted in complete radiologic response(89). A phase II trial of combination immunotherapy with ipilimumab and nivolumab, a PD-1 inhibitor, in melanoma LMD has recently opened to accrual(90). In summary, these early data suggest that both targeted therapy and immunotherapy have efficacy in melanoma LMD and can result in durable responses well over a year. Upcoming trials addressing melanoma LMD with newer therapies will beli ke yield significantly improved survival data over the adjacent decade.ConclusionDespite significant recent improvement in the outcomes of patients with melanoma, brain metastases remain a major determinant of mortality and morbidity in melanoma patients, and patients with MBM remain in the worst prognostic category. The vast volume of clinical trials with newer agents exclude patients with MBM, thus data on the effectiveness of new drugs in the context of MBM is still lacking. Understanding the biology of MBM and its clinical response to newer agent and particularly combinations of agents and strategies is crucial to increasing the longevity of the poorest-risk melanoma.Appropriate care of MBM begins with diagnosis. In melanoma, the brain is a common site of metastatic spread, both early and late. It is crucial to begin screening patients for MBM at diagnosis, and NCCN guidelines have recently been updated to reflect this changing diagnostic paradigm. The frequency at which to re peat imaging is still not known.Several therapeutic options now exist for the treatment of MBM (A proposed algorithm is provided in Figure-1). Surgical resection, radiation therapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy all show some degree of efficacy with MBM. Even in cases of LMD, perhaps the worst subset of MBM in terms of survival, treatment with targeted therapy and immunotherapy can induce prolonged survivals from historic means. initial reports involving combinations of these therapies, such as radiotherapy with either targeted therapy or immunotherapy, appear promising, but will need to be systematically studied in cohorts with larger numbers. Equally important will be the parallel investigation of predictive markers in MBM with these therapies and combinations. Thus, whenever possible, patients with a new diagnosis of brain metastases should be enrolled in appropriate clinical trials. If an appropriate clinical trial is unavailable, treatment decisions should be made with inp ut from a multidisciplinary team including radiation oncologists, neurosurgeons, and medical oncologists.