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Introduction

Metastatic bone disease occurs when cancer spreads from a primary organ site like the lungs, breast or prostate to the bone. It most commonly spreads to the spine and can cause pain, damage bone, weaken it and increase the risk of fractures. While incurable, metastatic bone disease can be treated to ease pain and slow progression.

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EmJay Balansag
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35 views

Introduction

Metastatic bone disease occurs when cancer spreads from a primary organ site like the lungs, breast or prostate to the bone. It most commonly spreads to the spine and can cause pain, damage bone, weaken it and increase the risk of fractures. While incurable, metastatic bone disease can be treated to ease pain and slow progression.

Uploaded by

EmJay Balansag
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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INTRODUCTION

Cancer that begins in an organ, such as the lungs, breast, or prostate, and then spreads to bone is called metastatic bone disease (MBD). The skeleton is the most common organ to be affected by metastatic cancer and the site of disease that produces the greatest morbidity. Skeletal morbidity includes pain that requires radiotherapy, hypercalcemia, pathologic fracture, and spinal cord or nerve root compression. Metastatic bone disease causes pain in the area of spread, damages and weakens bone, and puts the patient at a greater risk for broken bones. It can make it hard to participate in daily activities. The biggest concern for patients with MBD is the general loss in quality of life. Each year, about 100,000 Americans with cancer find out that the cancer has spread to their bones. This is called bone metastasis, or "bone mets," and it's different from cancer that starts in the bone. Cancer that leads to bone metastasis may have started in your breast, your prostate, your lungs, or other parts of your body. Odds are, bone pain brought this metastasis to your attention. You may wonder how this could have happened, especially if you received early, aggressive treatment for your cancer and any "renegade" cancer cells. And you may wonder what's on the horizon for you. Cancer that has metastasized to the bone is incurable but treatable. A wide array of treatments can ease pain and slow its progression. Read on to learn what is going on inside your body and what you can expect with treatment.

(http://www.webmd.com/cancer/features/bone-metastasis-what-happens) How much of an effect metastatic bone disease has on a patient will vary and is associated with how much the cancer has spread, which bones are affected, and how severe the bone damage is. There are a range of treatment options, however, that can help patients manage pain and maintain their independence and activity levels.

Metastatic bone disease occurs when cancer spreads from a primary organ site to bone. The spine is the most common location of metastatic disease.

(http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00093) Metastatic bone disease develops as a result of the many interactions between tumor cells and bone cells. This leads to disruption of normal bone metabolism, with the increased osteoclast activity seen in most, if not all, tumor types providing a rational target for treatment. Bone metastasis may be the first sign that you have cancer, or bone metastasis may occur years after cancer treatment. Bone metastasis can cause pain and broken bones. 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. Approximately 1.2 million patients present with cancer each year in the United States. Of these, approximately 600,000 persons have metastases to bone. In contrast, 2,700 patients per year develop primary bone sarcoma.

(http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1253331-overview#a0156) Because MBD weakens the affected bones, people with the disease are prone to fractures.

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