Brain metastases

By Mayo Clinic Staff
March 20, 2026

Research

Mayo Clinic researchers have a long tradition of research to advance the care of people with brain metastases. Successful projects have included:

  • Identifying how proteins help cancer cells to grow and spread.
  • Studying how the brain is affected after stereotactic radiosurgery plus whole-brain radiotherapy versus after stereotactic radiosurgery alone.
  • Predicting survival for people with melanoma who receive whole-brain radiation therapy for brain metastases.
  • Developing guidelines for treating people with breast cancer and brain metastases.
  • Improving treatment for people with a rare type of brain metastases called leptomeningeal metastases.
  • Predicting which people may be helped by rehabilitation after treatment for brain metastases.

Scientists in the following Mayo Clinic laboratories are active in brain tumor research:

Publications

See a list of publications about brain metastases by Mayo Clinic doctors on PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine.

  1. Shih HA. Epidemiology, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of brain metastases. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed March. 22, 2024.
  2. Niederhuber JE, et al., eds. Brain metastases and neoplastic meningitis. In: Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Elsevier; 2020. https://www.clinicalkey.com. Accessed Jan. 29, 2026.
  3. Shih HA. Overview of the treatment of brain metastases. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/search. Accessed March 22, 2024.
  4. Metastatic cancer. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/types/metastatic-cancer. Accessed March 13, 2024.
  5. Central nervous system cancers. National Comprehensive Cancer Network. https://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/default.aspx. Accessed March 15, 2024.
  6. AskMayoExpert. Brain metastases (adult). Mayo Clinic; 2024.
  7. Treatments and side effects. American Brain Tumor Association. https://www.abta.org/about-brain-tumors/treatments-side-effects/. Accessed March 19, 2024.
  8. Brondfield S, et al. Developing a community for patients with cancer through longer-term art therapy. JCO Oncology Practice. 2020; doi:10.1200/OP.20.00419.
  9. Distress management. National Comprehensive Cancer Network. https://www.nccn.org/guidelines/guidelines-detail?category=3&id=143 Accessed Jan. 3, 2024.
  10. Coping with cancer. Cancer.Net. https://www.cancer.net/coping-with-cancer. Accessed Jan. 4, 2024.
  11. Le Rhun E, et al. Leptomeningeal metastases of solid cancer. Current Opinion in Neurology. 2016; doi:10.1097/WCO.0000000000000393.
  12. Rades D, et al. A new scoring tool to assess overall survival in patients with intracerebral metastases from gynecological cancers. International Journal of Gynecological Cancer. 2017; doi:10.1097/IGC.0000000000000899.
  13. Klos KJ, et al. Brain metastases. The Neurologist. 2004; doi:10.1097/0nrl.0000106922.83090.71.
  14. Heim JB, et al. Myosin-1E interacts with FAK proline-rich region 1 to induce fibronectin-type matrix. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2017; doi:10.1073/pnas.1614894114.
  15. O'Neill BP, et al. Brain metastatic lesions. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 1994; doi:10.1016/S0025-6196(12)61374-3.
  16. Brown PD, et al. Effect of radiosurgery alone vs. radiosurgery with whole brain radiation therapy on cognitive function in patients with 1 to 3 brain metastases. JAMA. 2016; doi:10.1001/jama.2016.9839.
  17. Brown PD, et al. NCCTG N0574 (Alliance): A phase III randomized trial of whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) in addition to radiosurgery (SRS) in patients with 1 to 3 brain metastases. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2015; doi:10.1200/jco.2015.33.18_suppl.lba4.
  18. Rades D, et al. A matched-pair study comparing whole-brain irradiation alone to radiosurgery or fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy alone in patients irradiated for up to three brain metastases. BMC Cancer. 2017; doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2989-3.
  19. Rades D, et al. Prognostic factors after whole-brain radiotherapy alone for brain metastases from malignant melanoma. Anticancer Research. 2016; doi:10.21873/anticanres.1127
  20. Crozier JA, et al. Breast cancer brain metastases: Molecular subtype, treatment and survival. Breast Disease. 2016; doi:10.3233/BD-160237.
  21. Cheville AL, et al. Nested cohort study to identify characteristics that predict near-term disablement from lung cancer brain metastases. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2017; doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2016.08.473.