Korean Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care  2014;17(4):207-215

doi:10.14475/kjhpc.2014.17.4.207

The Radiopharmaceutical Therapy for Multiple Bone Metastases of Cancer.

Sang Gyu CHOI 1

Affiliations

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Keywords

Neoplasm metastasis; Radiopharmaceuticals; Radiation oncology

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

Korean

Abstract

Multiple bone metastases are common manifestation of many malignant tumors such as lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and renal cell carcinoma. Bone metastasis is secondary cancer in the bone, and it can lead to bone pain, fracture, and instability of the weight bearing bones, all of which may profoundly reduce physical activity and life quality. Treatment for bone metastasis is determined by multiple factors including pathology, performance status, involved site, and neurologic status. Treatment strategies for bone metastasis are analgesics, surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. External beam radiotherapy has traditionally been an effective palliative treatment for localized painful bone metastasis. However, in some cases such as multiple bone metastases, especially osteoblastic bone metastasis originated from breast or prostate cancer, the radiopharmaceutical therapy using (89)Sr, (186)Re, (188)Re, (153)Sm and (117m)Sn are also useful treatment option because of administrative simplicity (injection), few side effects, low risk of radiation exposure and high response rate. This article offers a concise explanation of the radiopharmaceutical therapy for multiple bone metastases.