Brain Metastases
1. Disease Overview
Brain metastases occur when cancer cells travel through the bloodstream and establish tumors within the brain. They are the most common intracranial tumors in adults—far more common than primary brain cancers.
Lung, breast, melanoma, kidney, and colorectal cancers are the most frequent sources, but almost any solid tumor can seed the brain. The diagnosis often arrives like a thunderbolt—patients learn their cancer has "spread to the head" and assume the worst.
At Fosun Health, brain metastases are not treated as a terminal event. They are treated as a local complication that can be controlled—often for years—while the rest of the body is managed. Our neuro-oncology team manages hundreds of brain metastasis cases annually. "We do not let the brain become the reason the war is lost."
2. Core Strengths: Why Choose Fosun Health?
Every cancer center can order whole-brain radiation. Here is what makes ours different:
Capability 1: Brain Metastases Are Not a Death Sentence
"The scan shows multiple tumors in my brain. I thought that was the end. Can anything be done?"
The challenge: The phrase "brain metastases" triggers immediate despair. Patients picture inoperable tumors, cognitive decline, and weeks of whole-brain radiation that leaves them foggy and forgetful. Many are told to focus on comfort care.
Our answer: CyberKnife M6 stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)—the standard of care that treats brain metastases as local problems to be eliminated, not as signals of impending doom:
Single to Multiple Lesions: CyberKnife treats 1 to 10+ brain metastases in a single session or across 1–5 sessions. Each lesion is targeted independently with 0.1mm sub-millimeter precision. The robotic head tracking compensates for the tiniest patient movement. No frame screwed into the skull. No hospital admission.
No Collateral Brain Damage: Unlike whole-brain radiotherapy that bathes the entire brain, CyberKnife converges radiation only on the metastasis. The hippocampus, memory centers, and normal cortex receive virtually zero radiation. You remain sharp.
Immediate Symptom Relief: For lesions causing edema and pressure, SRS reduces tumor burden rapidly. Seizures often stop. Weakness improves. Headaches resolve.
What this means for you: Multiple brain tumors do not mean game over. We can eliminate them one by one—non-invasively, outpatient, with your cognition intact. Many patients live for years with controlled brain disease while thriving systemically.
Capability 2: Without Opening the Skull
"I have a large brain metastasis causing pressure. The neurosurgeon says it is too deep or too risky to operate. Or I simply refuse craniotomy. Is there another way?"
The challenge: Not all brain metastases are surgical candidates. Tumors deep in the thalamus, brainstem-adjacent regions, or eloquent cortex carry high morbidity with open surgery. And many patients—already weakened by systemic cancer—cannot tolerate a craniotomy.
Our answer: A precision alternatives that avoid the operating room entirely:
CyberKnife M6 for Deep or Eloquent Lesions: For tumors sitting in the motor cortex, speech areas, thalamus, or cerebellum, 0.1mm precision allows ablative dosing to the tumor while the margin of safety around critical neural structures is maintained. No incision. No bleeding risk. No recovery ward.
Image-Guided Cryoablation: For accessible superficial metastases in the cerebellum or cerebral convexity, cryoablation via a needle probe destroys the tumor under CT/MRI guidance—the ice ball is visible in real time.
What this means for you: If a scalpel to the brain is not your path—or not medically advisable—we can ablate the tumor with focused radiation. Your skull stays intact.
Capability 3: One War on Two Fronts — Brain & Body Together
"I have brain metastases from my lung cancer / breast cancer / melanoma. Treating the brain is not enough—I need the systemic disease controlled too. Can you do both?"
The challenge: Brain metastases are a manifestation of systemic failure. Treating the head while the body burns is a losing strategy. Yet many centers silo their neuro-oncology and medical oncology teams—the brain radiotherapist never speaks to the systemic therapist. The patient falls through the cracks.
Our answer: Integrated brain-body warfare where local brain control and systemic disease suppression are planned simultaneously:
Blood-Brain Barrier-Penetrant Targeted Therapy: For molecularly defined cancers, we deploy agents known to cross the blood-brain barrier:
EGFR-mutant NSCLC: Osimertinib (3rd-generation TKI with proven CNS activity)
HER2+ breast cancer: Tucatinib + trastuzumab + capecitabine (dedicated CNS regimen)
ALK-rearranged NSCLC: Alectinib or brigatinib (high CNS penetration)
BRAF V600E melanoma: Dabrafenib + trametinib (brain metastasis response rates >50%)
Immunotherapy with CNS Activity: PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors (pembrolizumab, nivolumab) have demonstrated intracranial responses in melanoma and NSCLC brain metastases—particularly when combined with SRS.
SRS + Systemic Therapy Timing: We carefully coordinate the timing of CyberKnife brain treatment with immunotherapy or targeted therapy cycles—avoiding overlap that increases radionecrosis risk while maximizing the abscopal effect.
What this means for you: Your brain metastases are not treated in isolation. We attack them from the inside (targeted/immune drugs that penetrate the CNS) and the outside (CyberKnife SRS)—while simultaneously controlling the systemic disease that seeded them.
3. Continuous Care & Frontier Access
Clinical Trial Fast-Track
When standard therapies reach their limit, we provide rapid access to China's full portfolio of Phase III clinical trials—therapies typically 3–5 years ahead of availability elsewhere. For brain metastases specifically, this includes trials of next-generation CNS-penetrant TKIs, novel immunotherapy combinations with SRS, intrathecal therapy for leptomeningeal spread, and emerging radioligand therapies. NGS-based molecular matching identifies trials targeting your specific driver mutation. Every enrollment is ethics-approved with full medical supervision.
Integrative Oncology & TCM
Our TCM program runs alongside your primary treatment as a "neurological function and vitality optimizer":
Toxicity Reduction: Herbal formulations help manage peritumoral edema and related headache, alleviate treatment-related fatigue and insomnia, support recovery after SRS or surgery, and mitigate steroid-dependent side effects (mood changes, elevated blood sugar, muscle wasting) commonly used to control brain swelling.
Efficacy Enhancement: Selected preparations may improve tolerance to concurrent systemic therapy and support immune function.
Acupuncture provides additional support for headache, dizziness, post-treatment cognitive fatigue, and cancer-related insomnia. The goal: protect your clarity of mind, reduce neurological symptom burden, and keep you strong enough to fight on both fronts—brain and body.
4. Multidisciplinary Decision-Making
Every brain metastasis case is reviewed by a panel comprising radiation oncology (CyberKnife SRS), neuro-oncology, neurosurgery, medical oncology (systemic therapy), neurology (seizure and edema management), radiology (neuroradiology), and pathology/molecular diagnostics. Brain metastasis decisions are uniquely complex: SRS versus WBRT versus surgery versus LITT; timing with systemic therapy; management of symptomatic edema and seizures; distinguishing radiation necrosis from progression on follow-up imaging; and coordination with primary cancer treatment goals.
The MDT convenes within 48 hours of complete documentation. Your plan is a consensus decision optimized for the number and location of metastases, molecular profile, performance status, primary cancer type, and your priorities.
5. Patient Case
Diagnosis:
Brain Metastasis from Peripheral Lung Adenocarcinoma (Stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer)
Treatment Plan:
The patient initially presented with a right cerebellar mass. Further chest CT confirmed peripheral lung cancer involving the right lung, consistent with brain metastasis from lung cancer and Stage IV disease.
CyberKnife radiosurgery was first delivered to the cerebellar metastasis to rapidly relieve headache symptoms. CT-guided biopsy and molecular testing of the primary lung lesion subsequently confirmed lung adenocarcinoma harboring an EGFR mutation.
First-generation EGFR-targeted therapy was initiated, while high-dose CyberKnife radiotherapy was delivered to the primary lung lesion, providing dual suppression of tumor progression.
Third-generation EGFR-targeted therapy was reserved as a future treatment option in anticipation of potential acquired resistance.
Outcome:
Treatment proceeded according to plan, with precise CyberKnife treatment targeting both intracranial and pulmonary lesions while targeted therapy maintained systemic disease control.
Headaches rapidly resolved, and the patient's overall condition improved steadily.
At the remarkable follow-up of 11.5 years, PET-CT confirmed no recurrence within the right cerebellum, complete disappearance of the pulmonary lesion, and no evidence of malignancy throughout the body.
Mild right cerebellar edema was identified and attributed to treatment-related radiation changes but did not affect normal daily functioning.
6. About Fosun
Fosun Oncology Center
Led by Dr. Yang Jun, Prof. Luo Pengfei, and Prof. Chen Tao, the Fosun Oncology Center brings together more than 20 world-class medical experts, each with over a decade of extensive oncology experience. Supported by a comprehensive range of advanced therapies — including robotic surgery, precision radiotherapy, minimally invasive intervention, CAR-T cell therapy, and Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) — the center delivers one-stop, integrated cancer care designed to make treatment more accessible, efficient, and high-quality for every patient.
Key Highlights
- Over 60,000 annual oncology patient admissions across Fosun’s major international hospitals in 2025
More than 17,000 cumulative TACE procedures completed between 2023 and 2025 at Fosun Hospital Guangzhou alone, with international patients accounting for over 10% of total cases
- More than 1,000 successful CyberKnife treatments performed, demonstrating world-class expertise in precision radiotherapy
- A 29.3% five-year survival rate achieved for Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) through combined TTFields therapy, representing a significant improvement over the 4.7% baseline
Core Services
- Robotic surgery
- Precision radiotherapy
- Minimally invasive intervention
- CAR-T cell therapy
- Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields)
- Medical oncology
- PET/CT imaging
- Pulmonary nodule diagnosis
- VIP inpatient wards
- Integrated oncology clinics
- Traditional Chinese medicine for oncology
- Cancer screening and early detection
- Genetic testing and counseling
Fosun & Fosun Health
Founded in 1992, Fosun has grown over the past three decades into a global innovation-driven consumer group. In 2007, Fosun International Limited was listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (stock code: 00656.HK). As one of the few Chinese enterprises with strong global operational and investment capabilities, Fosun has developed substantial technological expertise and innovation capacity across multiple industries.
Established in 2010, Shanghai Fosun Health Technology is dedicated to building a world-renowned healthcare group in Asia. Today, the group operates 19 affiliated medical institutions across Foshan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shanghai, and other major cities, with a total of 6,600 hospital beds and 9 Internet Hospital licenses. Fosun Health ranks No. 1 among China’s private comprehensive medical groups. Its flagship institution, Fosun Foshan Chancheng Hospital, has ranked first among private hospitals in China for eight consecutive years and was honored with the 2026 Global Health Asia-Pacific “Oncological Medical Service Provider of the Year” award.
Fosun Foshan Chancheng Hospital
As the flagship hospital of Fosun Health, Fosun Foshan Chancheng Hospital was founded in 1958. The hospital currently hosts 28 key specialty development programs, including 2 provincial-level, 13 municipal-level, and 13 district-level key specialties. Its services span 22 medical disciplines, including spinal orthopedics, traditional Chinese medicine gynecology, obstetrics and gynecology, cardiovascular medicine, clinical laboratory medicine, anesthesiology, pediatrics, critical care medicine, ultrasound medicine, rehabilitation medicine, general practice, general surgery, and urology.
The hospital is equipped with globally advanced medical technologies, including the CyberKnife system and the Da Vinci Surgical Robot. It has 1,750 approved hospital beds and a multidisciplinary team of more than 2,800 medical professionals. The hospital records nearly 3.19 million outpatient visits annually and more than 67,000 inpatient discharges each year.
Fosun Foshan Chancheng Hospital has received numerous prestigious recognitions, including:
Global Health Asia-Pacific “Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of the Year”
Global Health China “Hospital of the Year”
No. 1 ranking on the GAHA Top 500 Private Hospitals in China list for eight consecutive years
The hospital has also been recognized as:
A National Model Unit for Improved Medical Services
A National Drug Clinical Trial Institution (GCP)
A National Standardized Residency Training Base
Guangzhou Fosun Chancheng Hospital (Guangzhou Xinshi Hospital)
Established in 2003, Guangzhou Fosun Chancheng Hospital specializes in cardiovascular medicine, oncology, and neurosciences. The hospital has established a National Chest Pain Center, Stroke Center, Trauma Center, and MDT Center, supporting the development of emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, intensive care, anesthesiology, gastroenterology, general surgery, urology, and general practice.
The hospital operates more than 800 inpatient beds and 48 clinical and medical technology departments, supported by a team of over 880 healthcare professionals.
Guangzhou Fosun Chancheng Hospital has received several honors and industry recognitions, including:
EMBA Innovation Practice Base
Guangdong Private Medical Reform & Innovation Brand
Guangdong Private Medical Industry Pioneer Brand
Outstanding Brand Hospital for Medical Investment Contribution
Upload your contrast-enhanced brain MRI, PET-CT, primary cancer pathology, and NGS/genetic sequencing results (EGFR, ALK, HER2, BRAF, etc.). The Fosun Health Brain Metastases MDT Panel will conduct a comprehensive evaluation and deliver a personalized preliminary treatment plan—including SRS versus WBRT versus surgery, and integrated systemic therapy—within 48 hours.
