Intracerebral metastases are not uncommon in solidtumor
patients and it appears an increase in incidence
has become apparent during the latter part of the past
d e ~ a d e I.f~ t his is because the CNS is sanctuary for
neoplastic cells, as Posner'" has suggested, this trend
may be expected to continue as better control of systemic
disease is obtained with chemotherapy.'" Since
it is generally believed that patients with brain metastases
have widely disseminated, advanced disease and
poor prognoses, the therapeutic goal in the management
of brain metastases has been merely the palliation of
debilitating neurologic symptoms and signs.44 However,
not all patients with brain metastases have widely disseminated
neoplastic disease. Two-thirds of the patients
in this series had a good performance status (0,1,2) and
in nearly a third, the brain was the only site of distant
metastasis.