Metastatic Bone Disease Definition

Although there is not yet a cure for cancer, recent medical advances in cancer treatments and early detection are helping people who are stricken with the disease to live longer. Often, while fighting the battles of their life, cancer patients are forced to deal with another form of cancer invasion--metastatic bone disease.

What is Metastatic Bone Disease?

• When a patient is diagnosed with metastatic bone disease, it means her cancer has spread from an affected organ into the bone in a certain area of the body. The skeleton is the third area of the body that has the greatest chance of a cancer spread, the first two being the liver and the lungs. Unfortunately, bone metastatic disease is diagnosed in at least half of the 1.2 million new cancer cases diagnosed each year. The most common organ cancers that result in metastatic bone disease include prostate, thyroid, kidney, breast and lung, although other organs are susceptible.

Symptoms of Metastatic Bone Disease

• Unlike some cancers such as lung cancer, which generally shows no signs until the later stages of the disease, metastatic bone disease will exhibit symptoms early on. Unfortunately, those symptoms can be extremely painful and even debilitating for some patients. Those who have metastatic bone disease may likely suffer from severe pain either in the pelvis or spine area, ribs, skull, upper arms or legs.

Bones Lose Strength With Disease

• Metastatic bone disease can significantly weaken the skeletal system and those diagnosed with the disease are at a much greater risk for broken bones, which often require surgery. Patients believed to be at the greatest risk of breaks or fractures may be put on long-term bed rest. When metastatic bone disease develops in the spine, patients could suffer permanent nerve damage and become paralyzed. Patients with breaks or fractures often suffer from a decrease in the production of red cells, or anemia--another unpleasant side effect of metastatic bone disease.

Bone Can Rebuild

• In some cases, the affected bone area of the patient can be permanently destroyed by the invasion of cancer. Doctors refer to this condition as osteolytic. In some cases of the disease where the cancer has metastasized from the bladder, stomach or prostate, the body will often begin its own process of rebuilding new bone. The medical term for this process is called osteoblastic.

Treatment and Pain Control

• Patients diagnosed with metastatic bone disease often require multiple doctors for a treatment plan including a medical oncologist who specializes in the disease, a radiation oncologist and an orthopedic specialist or bone doctor. Depending on the severity of the disease and level of pain the patient is in, treatment for metastatic bone disease can involve pain medication, radiation treatments or newer advances including radio frequency treatments.