TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding the unmet needs of patients with brain metastases referred for stereotactic radiotherapy and their caregivers
T2 - A prospective cohort study
AU - Cialdella, Fia
AU - van Grinsven, Eva E
AU - Nagtegaal, Steven H J
AU - van der Boog, Arthur T J
AU - Hinkert, Celeste C
AU - Jentink, Marion G
AU - Smid, Ernst J
AU - Claes, An
AU - Kleynen, Catharina E
AU - Snijders, Tom J
AU - de Vos, Filip Y F
AU - Philippens, Marielle E P
AU - van Zandvoort, Martine J E
AU - David, Szabolcs
AU - Verhoeff, Joost J C
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Neuro-Oncology and the European Association of Neuro-Oncology. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
PY - 2026/4
Y1 - 2026/4
N2 - ABSTRACT: BackgroundBrain metastases (BMs) affect >30% of patients with cancer. Beyond survival, quality of life (QoL), and disease progression are critical concerns for both patients and their caregivers. We present the design of COIMBRA (Cohort for patient-reported Outcomes, Imaging, and trial inclusion in Metastatic BRAin disease), clinical characteristics, and pre-radiotherapy QoL data for patients and caregivers.METHODS: COIMBRA is an observational, prospective, single-center cohort at UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands, focusing on BMs patients planned for (fractionated) stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and their caregivers. We collected clinical characteristics, imaging, and QoL (patient and caregiver) data via patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaires. PROs include the EORTC QLQ-C30, BN20, EQ-5D-3L (including VAS), CFQ, HADS, MFI, and CSI. PROs were compared with reference values from the literature for healthy, cancer, and brain tumor populations.RESULTS: From April 2019 to April 2023, 377 patients (50.4% male, median age 66 years) who received stereotactic radiosurgery, were included. Two hundred and seventy-six patients and 115 caregivers consented to PROs. Patients reported lower QoL compared to healthy individuals and primary brain tumor patients, with worse role- and cognitive functioning compared to patients with cancer. Pre-radiotherapy, 1/3 of the caregivers felt overwhelmed. Almost 40% of them report signs of anxiety, which is less than caregivers of cancer or primary brain tumor patients.CONCLUSIONS: These data from a large cohort of patients with BMs and their caregivers underscore the unique clinical profile of this vulnerable population. These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted support systems to address unmet needs of both patients and caregivers.
AB - ABSTRACT: BackgroundBrain metastases (BMs) affect >30% of patients with cancer. Beyond survival, quality of life (QoL), and disease progression are critical concerns for both patients and their caregivers. We present the design of COIMBRA (Cohort for patient-reported Outcomes, Imaging, and trial inclusion in Metastatic BRAin disease), clinical characteristics, and pre-radiotherapy QoL data for patients and caregivers.METHODS: COIMBRA is an observational, prospective, single-center cohort at UMC Utrecht, the Netherlands, focusing on BMs patients planned for (fractionated) stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and their caregivers. We collected clinical characteristics, imaging, and QoL (patient and caregiver) data via patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaires. PROs include the EORTC QLQ-C30, BN20, EQ-5D-3L (including VAS), CFQ, HADS, MFI, and CSI. PROs were compared with reference values from the literature for healthy, cancer, and brain tumor populations.RESULTS: From April 2019 to April 2023, 377 patients (50.4% male, median age 66 years) who received stereotactic radiosurgery, were included. Two hundred and seventy-six patients and 115 caregivers consented to PROs. Patients reported lower QoL compared to healthy individuals and primary brain tumor patients, with worse role- and cognitive functioning compared to patients with cancer. Pre-radiotherapy, 1/3 of the caregivers felt overwhelmed. Almost 40% of them report signs of anxiety, which is less than caregivers of cancer or primary brain tumor patients.CONCLUSIONS: These data from a large cohort of patients with BMs and their caregivers underscore the unique clinical profile of this vulnerable population. These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted support systems to address unmet needs of both patients and caregivers.
U2 - 10.1093/nop/npaf105
DO - 10.1093/nop/npaf105
M3 - Article
C2 - 42111023
SN - 2054-2577
VL - 13
SP - 262
EP - 275
JO - Neuro-Oncology Practice
JF - Neuro-Oncology Practice
IS - 2
ER -