SURVIVAL OF BREAST CANCER PATIENTS WITH BONE METASTASIS

Abstract

This study attempted to evaluated the survival of breast cancer patients, who were treated with palliative radiation to the affected matastatic bone regions.
A total of 137 breast cancer patients with evidence of bone metastasis was evalu- ated. All were treated with external beam radiation to the affected bones, using either Co-60 teletherapy or Linac 6 MV., with tumor doses of 3,000-3,500 cGy, 250-300 cGy per day, five fractions per week. All patients were follow-up closely until dead.
Eighty-seven patients (63.5%) developed only bone metastasis, other fifty pa- tients (36.5%) had associated visceral organs (lungs, brain, liver etc.) metastasis at the same period of bone metastasis. The median survival of patients with associated vis- ceral organs metastasis was 3 months, compared with 7.2 months for the patients with only bone metastasis.
Patients with multiple organs metastasis had short survival, most of them died from brain, or lungs or liver metastasis rather than bone metastasis. Patients with only bone metastasis have better survival and quality of life after palliative radiation.