Incidence and Clinical Characteristics of Brain Metastases at  Wahidin Sudirohusodo and Hasanuddin University Hospitals,  Makassar, Indonesia: An 11-Year Retrospective Study

Djoko Widodo; Kevin Jonathan Sjukur; James Otniel; Nailul Humam; Muhammad Faruk

doi:10.31557/apjcc.2026.11.3.381-387

Authors

Djoko Widodo Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia; Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital, Makassar, Indonesia. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9909-6801
Kevin Jonathan Sjukur Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia.
James Otniel Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia.
Nailul Humam Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia
Muhammad Faruk Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia. Hasanuddin University Hospital, Makassar, Indonesia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31557/apjcc.2026.11.3.381-387

Keywords:

Brain metastases, intracranial tumors, lung cancer, retrospective study

Abstract

Introduction: Brain metastases (BM) are the most frequent intracranial tumors in adults, yet epidemiological data remain limited in Indonesia. This study aimed to describe the incidence, clinical presentation, and management patterns of BM over an 11-year period at two tertiary referral hospitals in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Materials and Methods: This retrospective multi-center study included patients diagnosed with BM at Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Hospital and Hasanuddin University Hospital in Makassar, Indonesia, from 2013 to 2024. Patients were included if they had radiologically confirmed BM (CT or MRI) and histologically verified primary malignancies. Data on demographics, clinical symptoms, lesion number and location, primary tumor origin, treatment modalities, and mortality outcomes were extracted from medical records. Statistical analyses included descriptive summaries and chi-square test to explore associations between clinical variables and outcomes.

Results: Of 248 patients, most were female (55.2%) and aged 46–65 years (64.5%). Most patients presented with a single lesion (74.6%), predominantly in the parietal lobe (20.6%). Headache was the most common presenting symptom (50.4%). Lung (48.4%) and breast carcinoma (27.0%) were the leading primary malignancies. Conservative management was the predominant treatment (53.6%), followed by chemotherapy (40.7%), while surgical and radiotherapeutic interventions were infrequent. Mortality was higher in patients receiving conservative therapy (59.4%, p = 0.028) and those with multiple lesions (66.1%, p = 0.042).

Conclusion: BM in our cohort were predominantly associated with lung and breast malignancies and most frequently presented as single lesions in middle-aged adults. The high reliance on conservative management reflects both late-stage presentation and limited access to advanced neuro-oncologic interventions. These findings highlight the need for early detection, expanded therapeutic capacity, and multidisciplinary care to improve outcomes for patients with BM in resource-limited settings.