Table 3 Comparison of characteristics between patients who did and did not develop immediate side effects
Characteristic | Immediate side effects | Â | |
|---|---|---|---|
No, N = 4231 | Yes, N = 161 | p-value2 | |
Age, years | 67 (56, 74) [25–88] | 60 (41, 70) [30–77] | 0.050 |
Sex | Â | Â | 0.37 |
 Female | 207 (48.9%) | 6 (37.5%) |  |
 Male | 216 (51.1%) | 10 (62.5%) |  |
Prescribed dose/Number of fractions | Â | Â | 0.27 |
 20–24 Gy in 1 fraction | 93 (22.0%) | 1 (6.2%) |  |
 30 Gy in 3 fractions | 68 (16.1%) | 4 (25.0%) |  |
 30–35 Gy in 5 fractions | 239 (56.5%) | 10 (62.5%) |  |
 40–42 Gy in 10 fractions | 9 (2.1%) | 1 (6.2%) |  |
 Others | 14 (3.3%) | 0 (0.0%) |  |
Prescribed dose/Max dose, % | 53.3 (49.8, 69.9) [37.8–95.8] | 51.7 (50.3, 59.4) [47.8–81.6] | 0.70 |
Number of metastases | Â | Â | 0.56 |
 1 | 154 (36.4%) | 5 (31.2%) |  |
 2–4 | 135 (31.9%) | 8 (50.0%) |  |
 5–9 | 72 (17.0%) | 2 (12.5%) |  |
 10–40 | 62 (14.7%) | 1 (6.2%) |  |
Maximum tumor volume, cc | 0.61 (0.17, 2.42) [0.01–33.25] | 2.49 (1.54, 4.56) [0.24–24.92] | 0.001 |
Primary cancer |  |  |  < 0.001 |
 Lung, non-small cell | 226 (53.4%) | 6 (37.5%) |  |
 Lung, small cell | 61 (14.4%) | 0 (0.0%) |  |
 Breast | 57 (13.5%) | 0 (0.0%) |  |
 Others | 79 (18.7%) | 10 (62.5%) |  |
Prior history of whole-brain radiotherapy | 31 (7.3%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0.62 |
Re-irradiation of lesions previously treated with SRT | 24 (5.7%) | 0 (0.0%) |  > 0.99 |
Presence of neurological signs | 71 (16.8%) | 9 (56.2%) |  < 0.001 |
Use of corticosteroids | 132 (31.2%) | 4 (25.0%) | 0.78 |
Receipt of cytotoxic agents | 174 (41.1%) | 4 (25.0%) | 0.20 |
Receipt of molecularly targeted agents with anti-VEGF activity | 36 (8.5%) | 1 (6.2%) |  > 0.99 |
Receipt of other molecularly targeted agents | 101 (23.9%) | 2 (12.5%) | 0.38 |
Receipt of immune checkpoint inhibitors | 57 (13.5%) | 5 (31.2%) | 0.060 |