Wider radiation fields don't bring bone cancer relief

Does using a wider radiation field induce a more rapid response for cancer patients receiving palliative external-beam radiation therapy to reduce the pain of bone metastases?

No, Toronto researchers discovered, after analyzing the records of more than 650 patients who received treatment over a three-year period at the Odette Cancer Center of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center.

The objective of the study was to determine if a relationship could be identified between areas of radiation treatment and the onset of pain relief for patients with bone metastases. Half-body irradiation has been shown to produce pain relief within 24 to 48 hours, but most patients also experience side effects of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

The researchers wanted to determine if external-beam radiation therapy spread over a larger area was beneficial to patients. Their findings were published in the August 1 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics (2009, Vol. 74:5, pp. 1563-1566).

Principal investigator Edward Chow, Ph.D., and colleagues working in Odette's Rapid Response Radiotherapy Program conducted a retrospective analysis of treatment records of 653 patients. Pain scores and consumption of pain medication were recorded at the time of treatment and one, two, four, eight, and 12 weeks after receiving external-beam radiation therapy between January 1999 and December 2001.

The researchers compared pain score with mean radiation field size, as well as the combination of pain score and analgesic consumption. They determined that there was no statistical significance between the mean areas of radiation treatment and the onset of pain relief.

Related Reading

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Palliative radiotherapy cuts symptom severity in bone metastases, November 2, 2007

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