Overall survival after stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastases in renal cell carcinoma: A contemporary real-world analysis.

Abstract

e16598 Background: Brain metastases occur in a substantial proportion of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and are associated with poor prognosis. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is frequently used for intracranial disease control; however, contemporary real-world survival outcomes and the influence of systemic therapy exposure and metastatic burden remain incompletely characterized. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study using the TriNetX global federated health research network. Adult patients (≥18 years) with RCC and documented brain metastases who underwent stereotactic radiosurgery between January 2013 and December 2023 were identified. The index date was defined as the date of first SRS. Baseline demographics, comorbidities, and prior systemic therapy exposure including immune checkpoint inhibitors and VEGF-targeted therapies within 6 months before SRS were assessed. Metastatic burden was approximated using the number of distinct extracranial metastatic organ sites (single-organ vs multi-organ involvement). Overall survival (OS) was evaluated using Kaplan–Meier methods. Results: A total of 232 patients with RCC and brain metastases treated with SRS were included. Mean age was 61.2 ± 10.6 years, and 72% were male. Common comorbidities included hypertension (53%), diabetes mellitus (30%), chronic kidney disease (28%), and cerebrovascular disease (26%). Prior to SRS, 78% of patients received systemic therapy, including immune checkpoint inhibitors (49%) and VEGF-targeted therapies (46%). Using organ-site count as a proxy for disease burden, 59% demonstrated single-organ extracranial metastatic involvement. During follow-up, 95 patients (40.9%) experienced all-cause mortality. Median overall survival was 967 days (31.8 months). Estimated long-term survival probability at maximum follow-up was 21.2%. Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated early survival attrition followed by prolonged survival in a subset of patients. Patients receiving immunotherapy and those with limited extracranial metastatic burden demonstrated more favorable survival patterns. Conclusions: In this large contemporary real-world cohort of RCC patients with brain metastases treated with stereotactic radiosurgery, median overall survival exceeded 2.5 years, providing important modern survival benchmarks. Favorable outcomes were observed among patients receiving systemic immunotherapy and those with limited metastatic burden, supporting the continued role of SRS within multidisciplinary management strategies for selected patients with metastatic RCC.