Pathological fractures due to bone metastases from lung cancer: Risk factors and survival

Abstract

Introduction: Pathological fractures are frequent skeletal-related events among lung cancer patients, which result in high morbidity and decreased overall survival and make operative treatment decisions challenging. Objectives: To identify risk factors associated with the occurrence of pathological fractures in patients with lung cancer and to determine survival. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study with 407 lung carcinoma patients diagnosed between 2006 and 2015. The prevalence of bone metastases and pathological fractures was calculated. Statistical analysis was conducted using a chi-squared test, and the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were calculated. Overall survival was determined using the Kaplan-Meier method and differences were compared using the log-rank test. Results: The prevalence of bone metastases and pathological fractures was 28.2% (n = 115) and 19.1% (n = 22), respectively. Pathological fractures were more frequent among patients with bone metastases at the time of diagnosis of lung cancer (24.7% [n = 20] vs. 5.9% [n = 2]; p < 0.05). The median overall survival following the diagnosis of lung cancer, bone metastases, and pathological fracture was 6, 4, and 2 months, respectively. Conclusions: Pathological fracture was associated with synchronous bone metastases and overall survival times were considerably reduced.