ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Oncol.
Sec. Breast Cancer
A Real-World Study on Clinical Features and Prognosis of Chinese Breast Cancer Patients with Brain Metastases
Provisionally accepted
Xiao-Wen Liao1
Hong-dan Chen2Xiao-Geng Chen2
Yu-Nan Su1Ding-Long Pan1Guo-Zhong Chen1
Shuang-long Cai2*Min Wu1*- 1The Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China
- 2Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China
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Background: This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis of breast cancer (BC) patients with brain metastases (BM). Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of breast cancer patients with brain metastases (BCBM) in a real-world setting. Results: In a cohort of 249 breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) patients (all female; median age 46 years), molecular subtypes were distributed as follows: luminal (38.95%), HER2-positive (32.93%), and triple-negative (28.11%). Distinct metastatic patterns were observed: luminal subtype correlated with bone metastases (55.73%, p<0.001), HER2-positive with liver metastases (46.34%, p<0.001), and luminal with leptomeningeal metastases (19.59%, p=0.002). For CNS-directed treatment, 70.28% received radiotherapy (69.71% whole-brain radiotherapy, 30.28% stereotactic radiosurgery), while 23.69% received no local treatment. After median follow-up of 63.1 months, 81.52% had died. Multivariable analysis identified HER2-positive subtype and brain metastasis as first metastatic site as protective for overall survival after brain metastasis (OS-BM), while leptomeningeal metastasis were independent risk factors. Conclusion: This study reveals distinct patterns of metastatic spread across breast cancer molecular subtypes and identifies key prognostic factors for survival after brain metastasis. The findings underscore the critical influence of tumor biology on disease progression and outcomes, highlighting the need for subtype-specific management strategies in BCBM patients.
Keywords: breast cancer, brain metastases, Real-world study, Clinical features, prognosis
Received: 17 Sep 2024; Accepted: 17 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liao, Chen, Chen, Su, Pan, Chen, Cai and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shuang-long Cai, caishuanglong16@163.com
Min Wu, 13489167358@sohu.com
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