Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis Treatment

By an eHow Contributing Writer

Breast cancer is a cancer that originates in the tissue (sarcoma) or glands/ducts of the breast (adreoncarcinoma). It is far more common in women then men, and is often diagnosed by the presence of a lump found during a mammogram or breast exam. If found early, breast cancer is relatively treatable using a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. However, metastatic or Stage IV breast cancer is not a curable disease, and metastases often occur in the bones, liver or lungs. Although it can't be cured, new developments have helped to improve quality of life and increase longevity for patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Bone Metastasis

1. Bone metastases is common in Stage IV breast cancer. Often, bone metastases is symptomatic and is accompanied by bone pain at the site of the metastasis. Although the metastasis and the cancer are not curable, advances in medicine, including the use of radiation therapy, tamoxifen and bisphosphonates have improved the quality of life for patients with bone metastasis and have improved prognosis and 5 year survival rates for affected patients. Systemic therapies, including chemotherapy and hormone therapy, have also helped in the treatment of bone metastasis caused by breast cancer.
Chemotherapy
2. Chemotherapy can help shrink tumors and reduce pain associated with metastatic cancer. While chemotherapy will not cure the cancer in the bone or eliminate it completely, it can help reduce the amount of cancer cells present, which alleviates pain and extends lifespans. Common side effects include loss of appetite, baldness, nausea and mouth sores.

Bisphosphonates

3. Bisphosphonates are a relatively new class of drugs that have made a difference in the treatment of bone metastasis caused by breast cancer. Bisphosphonates help to treat weakness in the bones caused by metastases. Bisphosphonates work in four ways: they slow damage to the bone caused by cancer, they help maintain normal calcium levels in the blood, they reduce bone pain and they lower the risk of bone fractures caused by metastases.

Radiopharmaceuticals

4. Radiopharmaceuticals refers to a group of drugs, given intravenously, that have radioactive elements. The drugs target and settle in spots where cancer has formed in the bone and help to eliminate some of these metastatic cancer cells. This reduces pain and is far more precise and effective than the use of external radiation beams. A single injection of a radiopharmaceutical drug can reduce or eliminate bone pain for up to a year after it is administered. This type of treatment works best for bone metastases that stimulates the bone cells to form new bone areas in the body.

Hormone therapy

5. Some breast cancers are hormone receptive, which means estrogen aids the growth of the cancer. Hormone receptive cancers can be slowed by blocking access to estrogen. Removing the ovaries or providing hormone blocking drugs can thus slow the metastatic process.

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