What's new in management of bone metastases?

Abstract

Metastases are the most common malignancy in bone. In patients with bone metastases, especially if a limited expected survival, the indications for surgical treatment are limited, immediate pain relief and improvement in the functional status are important, and complications of treatments are unwanted. Novel medical treatments can offer an effective palliative option in these patients. Advances in interventional radiology and surgery have led to the development of less invasive techniques with the aim to achieve the same clinical results with less surgical morbidity. These include embolization, electrochemotherapy, magnetic resonance imaging-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound, and thermal ablation. Less invasive techniques combine the advantages of less invasive procedures including decreased blood loss, earlier functional recovery and initiation of adjuvant medical therapies and seem to be both effective in pain relief and local tumor control.