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Metastases to Bone

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Radiation Oncology for Cure and Palliation

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Radiat Oncol))

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Abstract

Over 100,000 patients per year in the United States have newly recognized metastases to bone [1]. Usually the primary tumor has been identified, but occasionally a metastasis will be the first clinical indication of cancer. These lesions may be a major source of pain, neurologic deficit, and hypercalcemia and may compromise skeletal integrity with potentially disastrous results in weight-bearing bone. The most frequent sources of metastases to bone are cancers of the breast, prostate, and lung [2, 3]. Metastases from other primary sites, including kidney, thyroid, endometrium, cervix, bladder, and gastrointestinal tract account for less than 20% of patients known to have bone metastases [4]. Although the ultimate prognosis is poor, many patients, particularly those with cancers of the kidney, breast, and prostate, may survive for many months or even years. Consequently, nearly all will need treatment to relieve the symptoms and signs caused by cancer for the remainder of their lives.

“Medicine should not only treat the ailment, but the patient suffering from it”

Maimonides

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, UCLA School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 200 UCLA Medical Plaza, Suite B265, 90095-6951, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Robert G. Parker MD & Michael T. Selch MD

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 77030, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX, USA

    Nora A. Janjan MD

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  2. Nora A. Janjan MD
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  3. Michael T. Selch MD
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Parker, R.G., Janjan, N.A., Selch, M.T. (2003). Metastases to Bone. In: Radiation Oncology for Cure and Palliation. Medical Radiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05225-9_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05225-9_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-07466-0

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