Retrospective study of outcomes of patients with brain-only metastatic breast cancer

A retrospective study at the University of Toronto (Canada) characterized risk factors and survival of metastatic breast cancer (mBC) patients with brain metastases as the first and only site of metastatic disease in a large cohort. Brain-only mBC (no extracranial metastases and leptomenigeal disease) was seen in 9.7% of mBC patients. Patients with brain-only mBC had longer overall survival than mBC patients with extracranial metastases. Patients with HER2+ and TNBC were more likely to have brain-only disease compared with those with HR+/HER2- mBC.