Is metastatic bone cancer advanced cancer?

  Bone metastasis is arguably the most dreaded news for cancer patients and their families. In the view of many patients, once bone metastasis is detected, it means that they have reached the advanced stage of cancer and there is little point in further treatment, and some of them even give up treatment. At present, breast cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer are the three major malignant tumors that are most prone to bone metastasis. Does bone metastasis mean that the patient is “terminally ill” and can only “sit and wait for death”? If bone metastasis can be treated reasonably and combined with medication, the impact of bone metastasis on patients’ survival is limited.  Bone metastasis is the third most common site of metastasis among malignant tumors, after lung and liver. Therefore, cancer patients and their family members can be afraid of “bone metastasis”. The incidence of bone metastasis from breast cancer is 65%-75%. Myeloma, kidney cancer, rectal cancer, pancreatic cancer and gastric cancer are also prone to bone metastasis. Bone metastases mostly occur in the vertebrae, around the hip joint, femoral stem, upper humerus and humeral stem, etc. The most common symptom is pain.  It is not that pain is bone metastasis. If cancer patients find fixed and persistent pain in multiple sites, they need to be alerted. Wandering pain would not be a sign of bone metastasis. Not all early stages of bone metastases manifest as pain. Some people do not have bone pain and only find bone metastases when they visit the doctor because of a fracture.” In addition, hypercalcemia, paraplegia, urinary and fecal incontinence, spinal cord compression such as chest binding sensation, radiating pain in lower limbs, or bone marrow suppression are all common symptoms of bone metastasis cancer.  2.Bone metastasis has reached the advanced stage of cancer without medicine Many patients and family members think that once bone metastasis occurs in cancer, it means that the patient is sentenced to death and there is no medicine for it. Bone metastasis is not always late. Patients with prostate cancer, breast cancer and other tumors generally have a longer survival period after bone metastasis occurs.  Patients with bone metastasis cancer have longer survival than those with visceral metastasis, and we have treated breast cancer patients who have been controlled for more than ten years. Patients can survive for a long time if they can get reasonable treatment, but it does not mean that patients can pay no attention to bone metastasis. With the increasing efficiency of treatment, the cure rate of malignant tumors is also increasing. Therefore, patients are recommended to undergo palliative care based on tumor treatment to improve the overall quality of life.  3.Bone metastases can be treated by bisphosphonates alone When it comes to the treatment of bone metastases, bisphosphonates are the most familiar drugs. Controlling bone metastases cannot be treated by bisphosphonates alone. The diagnosis and treatment of bone metastasis is very complicated and requires standardized treatment under the guidance of experts according to the primary tumor.  Control of bone metastases from malignant tumors should be treated in a standardized and individualized manner using a comprehensive assessment and multidisciplinary collaborative approach. This includes treatment for the tumor itself, such as drug therapy, endocrine therapy, chemotherapy radiotherapy, etc.; it also includes bisphosphonate therapy, surgery, interventional therapy, etc. for the bone itself. Patients with bone metastases, especially those with spine and lumbar metastases, should sleep on hard beds. If the metastasis occurs in the lower limbs, it is also necessary to avoid weight-bearing and reduce the amount of activity to avoid pathological fractures.