What Are the Treatments for Bone Cancer in the Hip?

Bone cancer of the hip can be primary or metastatic (a different cancer that has spread to the bone). Treatment will depend on several factors and includes drugs, radiation and surgery. The American Cancer Society and the Mayo Clinic offer the following information regarding bone tumor treatments.

Determining Treatment

• Your doctor will take several factors into account when deciding on treatment. They include whether the cancer is primary or metastatic--and if metastatic, where the cancer originated--the condition of your hip bone, what other treatments you have undergone and your general health.

Local Treatments

• Local treatments--those that target the bone directly--include surgery to remove the cancerous matter from the bone, surgeries to strengthen weakened bones and glue injections to enhance bone stability.

Systemic Treatments

• Systemic treatments travel through the bloodstream. Systemic therapies for bone cancer include chemotherapy, hormone therapies and biophosphonates--treatments that strengthen bones and reduce the risk of fractures. You might also receive radiopharmaceuticals--intravenous medications with radioactive elements that target cancerous bone cells.

Radiation Therapy

• Radiation treatments target the bone directly and are used in several instances in regards to bone cancer. Your doctor might use it before surgery to shrink a larger tumor or after surgery to ensure all the cancer was destroyed. You might receive radiation for inoperable tumors. In the cases of advanced cancer, radiation can control tumor growth. Controlling growth can ease pain and other symptoms of the tumor.

Deciding on Treatment

• You have resources available that offer guidance on treatment options. You can call the National Cancer Institute at 1-800-4-CANCER or the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345.