Perfil clínico-epidemiológico dos pacientes com metástase cerebral

Abstract

Introduction: Cerebral metastasis (CM) is the major neurological manifestation of cancer. Most prevalent primary sites include: lungs, breast and skin. Hemiparesis, aphasia, visual disturbances, seizures, headache, nausea, vomiting and cognitive abnormalities are part of the clinical manifestations. Imaging studies associated with biopsy confirms the diagnosis. The treatment may be palliative or surgical and complemented by radiatiotherapy and chemotherapy. Objective: To describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of CM in cancer patients. Methods: A retrospective, descriptive and cross-sectional study of confirmed cases of CM admitted to the neurosurgery service of the Emergency Hospital of Sergipe (Aracaju-Se) was conducted, during the period from January of 2011to August of 2012. Results: Forty patients with a mean age of 53.2 years were studied. The sixth decade of life was the most affected age group. Regarding gender, 24 (60%) were female and 16 (40%) male. The most prevalent primary site of CM was breast cancer (37.5%), followed by lung 30%. The most common symptoms were headache and cognitive abnormalities both present in 30 (75%) cases. A computed tomography (CT) was the most used diagnostic method, 36 (90%) patients. Palliative treatment was carried out in 25 (62.5%) patients, followed by radiotherapy, 11 (27.5%), surgery, 8 (20%) and chemotherapy 3 (7.5%) patients. Conclusion: The clinical and epidemiological analyses of cancer patients is extremely important for the diagnosis of CM.