Bone metastasis is a relatively common complication of cancer, often developing as they advance, especially in prostate cancer and breast cancer. Bone metastasis can profoundly affect patients' daily activities and quality of life (QOL) due to severe pain and associated major complications.
Most patients with metastatic bone disease survive for 6-48 months. In general, patients with breast and prostate carcinoma live longer than those with lung carcinoma. Patients with renal cell or thyroid carcinoma have a variable life expectancy.
With rare exceptions, cancer that has spread to the bones can't be cured. Treatments can help reduce pain and other symptoms of bone metastases.
Bone metastasis can weaken bones. This puts your bones at risk for breaking. In some cases, a break (fracture) is the first sign of bone metastasis. The most common sites where bones may break are the long bones of the arms and legs, and the bones of the spine.
Stage 4. The cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as to the lungs, the brain, other bones or nearby lymph nodes. This is called metastatic bone cancer.
Malignant giant cell tumors of bone: The five-year relative survival rate for a regional malignant giant cell tumor of bone is 74 percent. Patients with distant metastatic giant cell bone tumors have a five-year relative survival rate of 42 percent.
Radiation therapy is a common treatment for bone metastases. It may be given as external radiation therapy or systemic radiation therapy. External radiation therapy may be used to treat bone pain and spinal cord compression. It is also used to prevent or help heal broken bones.
MBC may spread to the bones and cause pain and other symptoms. Although MBC may not vanish completely, a range of treatments can help manage the condition for a number of years, and many people can live long lives with MBC. The cancer may be active or go into remission.
Most bone metastases originate from the breast, prostate or lung although kidney and thyroid tumors can metastasize to bone as well. Carcinoma travels to bone via hematogenous spread or direct invasion of bone leading to severe pain and increased risk of pathologic fracture.
In the past, many people did not live long with metastatic cancer. Even with today's better treatments, recovery is not always possible. But doctors can often treat cancer even if they cannot cure it. A good quality of life is possible for months or even years.
For example, the five-year survival rate for metastatic lung cancer is 7%. This means that 7% of people diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer are still alive five years later. Meanwhile, the five-year survival rate of metastatic breast cancer is 28% for women and 22% for men.
Palliative RT for bone metastases reduces pain in the majority of patients, though often takes several weeks [5]. The use of palliative RT use in the final weeks of life of therefore may have limited clinical use and may actually impair quality of life for patients and their families near the end of life [5].
Chemotherapy works very well for some types of bone cancer, particularly Ewing sarcoma. You often have chemotherapy for osteosarcoma or spindle cell sarcoma as well.
The medication denosumab (Xgeva®) is a targeted therapy and may be used to prevent further bone damage from cancer cells. It works by targeting a specific protein that is needed for bone breakdown to occur.
Rarely are the terms “cure” and “metastatic cancer” used together. That's because cancer that has spread from where it originated in the body to other organs is responsible for most deaths from the disease.
Most metastases, however, occur within 10 years after removal of the primary tumor.
The most frequent and important symptom of bone metastasis is pain. In addition, bone metastasis causes bone fractures, hypercalcemia, and spinal cord and nerve compression. Imaging studies, such as bone scans and PET studies, are useful tools in diagnosing bone metastases.
If the cancer is diagnosed at the localized stage, the 5-year relative survival rate is 77%. If the cancer has spread to surrounding tissues or organs and/or the regional lymph nodes, the 5-year relative survival rate is 65%.
Bones: If cancer is in the bones, too much calcium may go into the bloodstream, which can cause unconsciousness and death.
Metastasis is a multi-step process encompassing the (i) local infiltration of tumor cells into the adjacent tissue, (ii) transendothelial migration of cancer cells into vessels known as intravasation, (iii) survival in the circulatory system, (iv) extravasation and (v) subsequent proliferation in competent organs ...
Metastatic cancer is fatal because it has the ability to spread inside the body. The cancer could infect the nearby tissues by spreading. The cells could spread regionally also, such as, organs, tissues, and lymph nodes. When this type of spread happens, it is also termed as stage four cancer, done by metastasis.