“Symptomatic” melanoma brain metastases: A call for clear definitions and adoption of standardized tools
Émilie Le Rhun, Michael Weller, Carey K. Anders, James Larkin, Jing Li, Nelson S. Moss, Hussein A. Tawbi, Reinhard Dummer
Abstract
With improved systemic treatment and prolonged survival even with metastatic disease, diagnosing, treating, and monitoring brain metastases has become a central topic in the care of patients with melanoma. Patients with brain metastases from melanoma are typically excluded from pivotal clinical trials. When allowed, inclusion and exclusion criteria are rather selective and do not reflect the larger population of melanoma patients with brain metastases who frequently present with neurological symptoms and signs and require steroid medications. Moreover, the lack of consensus on reporting symptomatic brain involvement complicates the interpretation and implications of trial results for the overall population of patients with melanoma and brain metastasis. Here, we review the evidence regarding brain metastasis from melanoma and discuss the challenges of longitudinal neurological clinical assessments, including tools to capture cognition and quality of life. Finally, we propose the adoption of standardized tools to interpret neurological deficits in patients with melanoma and brain metastases and to assess the neurological status in the context of clinical trials.