Interdisciplinary management of central nervous system metastasis and neoplastic meningitis: recent developments and future perspectives

Abstract

The incidence of metastatic disease in the central nervous system (CNS) is rising. According to current estimates, up to a third of adult cancer patients will suffer from CNS metastasis. Clinical evidence-based data from prospective randomized trials are rare, however, because CNS metastasis patients were often excluded from clinical trial participation. The management of CNS metastasis patients is therefore rather ill-defined and an interdisciplinary challenge. Recent basic and translational science data have begun contributing to a more profound understanding of the molecular mechanisms leading to invasion of tumor cells into the CNS. This report reviews advances, challenges, and perspectives in this field.