Gamma Knife radiation looked safe for people with 10 or more brain tumors
Original title: How safe and effective is radiosurgical treatment for patients with 10 or more brain metastases?
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
stereotactic radiosurgery: Radiation aimed at a small target, in one visit or a few. There is no cutting, despite the name. See the glossary is already used today, and this study looked back at people who had it.
The short version
People with 10 or more brain tumors had no more side effects from stereotactic radiosurgery: Radiation aimed at a small target, in one visit or a few. There is no cutting, despite the name. See the glossary radiation than people with fewer tumors.
What was studied. Doctors looked back at records of people who had stereotactic radiosurgery: Radiation aimed at a small target, in one visit or a few. There is no cutting, despite the name. See the glossary radiation. The tumors had spread to the brain from cancer elsewhere. 1293 people had fewer than 10 brain tumors, and 126 had 10 or more.
What they found. People with fewer than 10 tumors lived longer. Their typical survival time was 9.9 months. For people with 10 or more tumors, it was 5.3 months. Side effects after the radiation were the same in both groups. The radiation also held the treated tumors in check just as well in both groups.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: stereotactic radiosurgery: Radiation aimed at a small target, in one visit or a few. There is no cutting, despite the name. See the glossary may still be a reasonable first treatment, even with 10 or more tumors. The number of tumors is not the only thing that matters. Being over 65, feeling less able to handle daily life, cancer in other parts of the body, and not taking immunotherapy or targeted drugs were all tied to a higher risk of dying.
What it doesn't mean: This is not a cure, and it does not clear the cancer. The study only looked back at records of past patients. That kind of study cannot prove what caused what. People with 10 or more tumors still lived a shorter time on average. Ask your own care team what makes sense for you.
Source: PubMed, September 1, 2026 · Read the original
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