| [ Summary ] |
Radiotherapy is one of the most effective, and often the only, therapeutic option to relieve painful bone metastases and other kinds of pain caused by nerve compression or infiltration by malignant tumors. With the advent of effective systemic therapies and improvements in supportive care, cancer patients are expected to live longer and may suffer with metastatic disease for a considerable length of time. Bone metastases are a common manifestation of distant relapse from many types of malignant tumors. Many patients with bone metastases suffer from compromised mobility and performance status. Therefore, the purpose of palliative care for bone metastasis should be to relieve pain and improve performance status.
Radiotherapy plays an important role in improving local fragility in the skeletal system. In cases of local nerve compression or infiltration by locally advanced or recurrent tumors, radiotherapy is also an effective treatment not only to relief pain but also to prevent local tumor progression. Physicians who take care of palliative care patients should keep the effectiveness of radiotherapy in mind and refer patients to radiation oncologists. |