Management of bone metastases

Abstract

The skeleton is the most common site to be affected by advanced breast, prostatic, lung, kidney, thyroid and other solid tumors (in addition to myeloma multiplex). Bone metastases cause significant morbidity with nearly always fatal outcome. Over 600 000 new patients diagnosed in the developed countries yearly. On average every 4-6 months patients suffer from series of severe skeletal complications such as pathologic fractures, spinal cord compression, hypercalcemic events, etc., besides the permanent pain. Local external beam radiotherapy, systemic radioisotope-, endocrine-, and chemotherapy, oral and i.v. bisphosphonates and recently s.c. denosumab are the mainstays of treatment, in addition to pain-killers and other usual "classical" interventions. The modern treatments singificantly reduce the probability of skeletal complications and improve the patients' quality of life and, sometimes, they extend the survival as well. The authors briefly summarize the available treatment options.