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IMPACT OF WBRT ON COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS :
GENERAL CONCEPTS IN BRAIN METASTASIS
• A radiation-induced dementia with ataxia and urinary incontinence
has been reported in up to 30% of patients by 1 year from
receiving unconventional large size fractions of WBRT (6-8.5 Gy)
(
De Angelis et al, Neurology, 1989
).
• When using more conventional size fractions (up to 3 or 4 Gy per
fraction) the incidence of cognitive deficits in long-term survivors is
unknown.
• Long-term survivors frequently develop overtime changes on MRI,
such as cortical atrophy, hyperintensity of the white matter in
T
2
/
FLAIR
images and hydrocephalus, but the clinical concomitants
are poorly known.