Management of bone metastases

Abstract

Metastasis, or spread of tumor, often progresses to involve bone tissue. Concerns for bone metastases include pain and pathological fractures caused by weakening of bone by neoplastic processes. Diagnosis of bone metastasis has become easier with the development of imaging techniques other than x-ray, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), and radionuclide imaging or bone scans which measure the uptake of radioisotopes in the body as an index of pathology. Therapies for managing metastasis include surgery, radiation therapy, treatment with radioisotopes and hormonal therapies. Bone sparing drugs have been found useful in protecting and rebuilding bone once the tumor is under control. The diagnosis of bone metastasis should no longer be one of helplessness and terminal prognosis. Alleviation of symptoms, and even cure, followed by rehabilitation, is a foreseeable outcome.