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n affects most people with cancer as the disease progresses. One of the most common causes of pain in advanced cancer is bone metastases (cancer that has spread to the bone). Bone metastases occur in an estimated 65-75 percent of patients with breast or prostate cancer and in 70-95 percent of patients with multiple myeloma (cancer that begins in the blood). As cancer progresses, bone pain caused by metastases often increases in intensity.
Fortunately, there are a number of treatment options available for bone pain. Potential treatments include opioid analgesics, which are prescription narcotic pain medicines; a class of drugs called bisphosphonates, used to help strengthen bone and slow the progression of bone metastases; and external beam radiation, where physicians target a beam of radiation directly at painful bone lesions.
All these options can be effective but have downsides, too. For example, increasing doses of opioid analgesics is usually necessary to control increasing pain. As doses increase, so do side effects like excessive sleepiness, nausea and breathing difficulties. Bisphosphonates,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], while helping to strengthen bone,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], are not very effective at controlling pain. External beam radiation, while effective, can only target a few painful lesions at a time.
Another class of drugs used to treat cancer-related bone pain is radiopharmaceuticals. Radiopharmaceuticals are drugs that combine a radionuclide (radiation) with a pharmaceutical. Studies have shown that most patients with a positive bone scan who are suffering from pain can experience relief lasting for months following a single injection with a radiopharmaceutical.
In the past, radiopharmaceuticals for bone pain have been underutilized due to concerns over myelosuppression (a drop in a patient's white blood cell, red blood cell and/or platelet counts), and the belief that repeat doses of these treatments cannot be given.
According to new research, however,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], one of these agents, called Quadramet(r) (samarium SM 153 lexidronam injection), may be more useful than previously thought.
"Quadramet can provide very long-lasting pain relief for people with cancer suffering from bone pain," said Dr. Oliver Sartor, M.D. from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. "We've also found that multiple doses of Quadramet can be given over time,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and pain relief with each treatment seems to be similar to what patients experience after their first dose," he added.
With cancer patients now living longer than ever before, this is good news for those suffering from bone pain, and their doctors.