What are bone metastases? Information about the symptoms, diagnostic methods, surgical treatment options, and follow-up process of bone involvement due to cancer.
Bone metastases are malignant bone lesions that result from cancer spreading from another part of the body to the bone tissue. Bone metastases can occur especially in breast, prostate, lung, kidney, and thyroid cancers.
Bone metastases frequently develop in the spine, pelvis, ribs, femur, and humerus. They can affect the structure and strength of bone tissue, causing pain, limited movement, and pathological fractures.
Bone metastases and primary bone tumors originating directly from bone tissue are different. This distinction is important for disease evaluation and treatment planning.
Diagnosis and Evaluation
In evaluating bone metastases, the patient's current cancer diagnosis, complaints, physical examination findings, and radiological examinations are considered together.
Imaging methods such as X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography (CT) can be used to determine the location, size, and effect of bone involvement on bone structure.
Methods such as bone scintigraphy or PET/CT can also be used to assess the extent of the disease.
In cases where the diagnosis cannot be confirmed, the organ from which the cancer originated is unknown, or a different bone tumor is suspected, biopsy and pathological examination may be necessary.
Especially in metastases developing in weight-bearing bones, evaluating the risk of fracture is an important part of orthopedic treatment planning.
Treatment Approaches
Treatment of bone metastases is planned multidisciplinarily according to the organ from which the cancer originated, the location of bone involvement, the extent of the disease, and the patient's general health condition.
The main goals in the treatment process are to control pain, preserve bone integrity, prevent pathological fractures, and maintain the patient's mobility as much as possible.
Surgical treatment may be considered in bones with a high risk of fracture or in bones where pathological fractures have developed. In suitable patients, bone stabilization can be achieved with plate, screw, intramedullary nail, or prosthesis applications.
In some patients, removal of tumor tissue followed by bone reconstruction may be necessary.
Depending on the type of cancer, radiotherapy, systemic oncological treatments, and medications to support bone tissue may also be included in the treatment plan.
Diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up processes are evaluated in collaboration with relevant specialties such as orthopedics and traumatology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, and radiology.
During post-treatment follow-up, bone integrity, pain status, movement functions, and the course of the disease are regularly assessed.