Is Hippocampal Avoidance During Whole-Brain Radiotherapy Risky for Patients With Small-Cell Lung Cancer? Hippocampal Metastasis Rate and Associated Risk Factors.

Objectives: Hippocampal avoidance during whole-brain radiotherapy is performed to prevent neural stem cell injury causing neurocognitive dysfunction. Nevertheless, the estimated risk of metastases in hippocampal avoidance area in small-cell lung cancer is unknown. The current study aimed to characterize the metastatic distribution within the brain relative to the hippocampus, estimate the incidence of hippocampal metastasis in patients with small-cell lung cancer, and identify clinical and radiographic variables that may be associated with the risk of hippocampal avoidance area metastasis.