| The recent announcement by Elizabeth Edwards, | | | | pain. External beam radiation, while |
| the wife of Democratic presidential candidate | | | | effective, can only target a few painful |
| John Edwards, that her breast cancer has | | | | lesions at a time. |
| recurred and spread to her bones, is not | | | | |
| something that any cancer survivor or | | | | Another class of drugs used to treat |
| caregiver ever wants to hear. Fortunately, | | | | cancer-related bone pain is |
| Ms. Edwards and thousands of women fighting | | | | radiopharmaceuticals. Radiopharmaceuticals |
| recurrent breast cancer now have a greater | | | | are drugs that combine a radionuclide |
| range of options to battle the disease and | | | | (radiation) with a pharmaceutical. Studies |
| its many negative effects, especially pain. | | | | have shown that most patients with a positive |
| | | | bone scan who are suffering from pain can |
| Pain affects most people with cancer as the | | | | experience relief lasting for months |
| disease progresses. One of the most common | | | | following a single injection with a |
| causes of pain in advanced cancer is bone | | | | radiopharmaceutical. |
| metastases (cancer that has spread to the | | | | |
| bone). Bone metastases occur in an estimated | | | | In the past, radiopharmaceuticals for bone |
| 65-75 percent of patients with breast or | | | | pain have been underutilized due to concerns |
| prostate cancer and in 70-95 percent of | | | | over myelosuppression (a drop in a patient's |
| patients with multiple myeloma (cancer that | | | | white blood cell, red blood cell and/or |
| begins in the blood). As cancer progresses, | | | | platelet counts), and the belief that repeat |
| bone pain caused by metastases often | | | | doses of these treatments cannot be given. |
| increases in intensity. | | | | |
| | | | According to new research, however, one of |
| Fortunately, there are a number of treatment | | | | these agents, called Quadramet(r) (samarium |
| options available for bone pain. Potential | | | | SM 153 lexidronam injection), may be more |
| treatments include opioid analgesics, which | | | | useful than previously thought. |
| are prescription narcotic pain medicines; a | | | | |
| class of drugs called bisphosphonates, used | | | | "Quadramet can provide very long-lasting pain |
| to help strengthen bone and slow the | | | | relief for people with cancer suffering from |
| progression of bone metastases; and external | | | | bone pain," said Dr. Oliver Sartor, M.D. from |
| beam radiation, where physicians target a | | | | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical |
| beam of radiation directly at painful bone | | | | School, Boston, Massachusetts. "We've also |
| lesions. | | | | found that multiple doses of Quadramet can be |
| | | | given over time, and pain relief with each |
| All these options can be effective but have | | | | treatment seems to be similar to what |
| downsides, too. For example, increasing doses | | | | patients experience after their first dose," |
| of opioid analgesics is usually necessary to | | | | he added. |
| control increasing pain. As doses increase, | | | | |
| so do side effects like excessive sleepiness, | | | | With cancer patients now living longer than |
| nausea and breathing difficulties. | | | | ever before, this is good news for those |
| Bisphosphonates, while helping to strengthen | | | | suffering from bone pain, and their doctors. |
| bone, are not very effective at controlling | | | | |