Brain imaging in early stage non-small cell lung cancer: still a controversial topic?

Brain metastases (BM) frequently occur in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Approximately 10–20% of NSCLC patients already have BM at initial time of NSCLC diagnosis and around 40% will develop BM during the course of their disease (1). Known risk factors for the development of BM are adenocarcinoma histology, advanced nodal status, tumour stage and younger age (2-5).