Prognostic factors for patients with newly diagnosed brain metastasis from breast cancer.

AIM This retrospective study determined features associated with brain metastasis (BM) in women with breast cancer. PATIENTS & METHODS A total of 215 initially early breast cancer cases were included. We reviewed files and CT scan images of BM. RESULTS Median age was 47 years and most of our cases were stage III (58.6%), grade III (62.8%), ER negative (62.3%) and nonluminal (59.1%). Median survival after BM was 4 months. Nonluminal, extracranial disease, time to CNS shorter than 15 months, >three brain lesions and poor breast-graded prognostic assessment and recursive partitioning analysis scores were associated with shorter survival. Adding extracranial disease to breast-graded prognostic assessment score also predicted survival after BM. Radiation response was assessed in 57 patients and response tended to be associated with nonluminal phenotype but not with survival. CONCLUSION Factors associated with both initial tumor and clinical features at BM time are associated with shorter survival in our Latinas population.