A Descriptive Study of Brain and Spine Metastases in Advanced Breast Cancer Patients within a Tertiary Nigerian Hospital.

Abstract

Background and aim: The aim of this study was to describe the clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with brain or spinal metastasis (BM or SpM) from advanced breast cancer (BC) and identify associations between BM or SpM and BC hormone receptor subtype, clinical presentation, and overall survival.

Methods: We carried out a retrospective case-cohort study of patients with advanced BC with BM or SpM between 2011 and 2022. Clinical examination findings, as well as imaging and pathology reports, were extracted for analysis.

Results: Thirty patients were included (29 female; median age at diagnosis of BC 41 years). BM 41.5 (interquartile range: 38-45.5) years, and SpM 42 (IQR: 39-51) years. Triple-negative breast cancer was the most common immunohistochemical subtype (71%, 15/21). The median duration from the diagnosis of BC to BM was 11.5 (5.5-16.5) months, and that from BC to SpM was 12 (3-28) months. The median time to death from BC diagnosis was 25 (14-53) months. The median duration from the detection of BM to death was 8 months (5-17), and for SpM, it was 13 months (2-18). The most common clinical correlate of BM reported was headache (92%), while that of SpM was lower back and waist pain (91%).

Conclusion: The average duration from the diagnosis of BC to SpM is higher than that of BM, while the median duration from diagnosis to death was also higher in SpM than in BM. This trend is similar to what has been recorded in Western countries, although an increased sample size is required to enable generalizability.