The value of stereotactic biopsy of primary and recurrent brain metastases in the era ofprecision medicine

Abstract BACKGROUND: Brain metastases (BM) represent the most frequent intracranial tumors with increasing incidence. Many primary tumors are currently treated in protocols that incorporate targeted therapies either upfront or for progressive metastatic disease. In cases with diagnostic uncertainty, both in newly diagnosed or recurrent BM, stereotactic biopsy serves as an alternative to microsurgical resection particularly whenever resection is not deemed to be safe or feasible. This retrospective study aimed to analyze both diagnostic yield and safety of an image-guided frame based stereotactic biopsy technique (STX).