This is an automatically translated article.
Cancer has long been a malignant tumor of medicine, as society develops, the rate of people suffering from this disease is increasing. In Vietnam, the people's sense of self-consciousness about going to regular health check-ups is not high, many people only go to the hospital when they have symptoms, so when the disease is detected, the cancer metastasizes to the bones very quickly. difficult to treat. So is bone metastasis dangerous or not and how long can patients live after metastasis?
1. What is metastatic bone cancer?
When cancer cells from the primary site metastasize to the bone tissue and damage the bone structure, it is called bone metastasis. Metastatic cancer is simply understood as cancer that has reached the final stage and the skeletal system is considered the most metastatic organ and has the most impact on the daily life of the patient.
Although there are many different types of cancer, cancers of the lung, breast, prostate, kidney, thyroid, and stomach have the highest risk of metastasis to the bones. In addition, the bone sites that are often metastasized include the spine, pelvis, ribs, skull, arm bones... Bone metastatic cancer has no definitive treatment, current treatments only help reduce symptoms, limit tumor metastasis, prolong survival time for patients.
How long does cancer metastasize to the spine is something that many people are interested in, metastatic cancer is simply understood as cancer to the final stage, at this time, the main treatment measures are to limit the spread of cancer. tumor. In general, bone metastatic cancer has a poor prognosis and the disease status depends on the extent of cancer of the primary organ. Depending on the degree of metastasis, the survival rate of each patient is different, however. If cancer metastasizes to bone, the 5-year survival rate from the time of detection is only 20-30%. If the cancer metastasizes to the bone from lung cancer, the patient's survival time is only measured in months.
Tỷ lệ sống sót của người bệnh tùy thuộc vào mức độ di căn xương
2. Diagnosis of bone metastatic cancer
2.1 Determining diagnosis Patients with bone metastatic cancer often have the following symptoms:
The most common manifestation is bone pain, patients often have more pain at night and at rest Pathological fractures Nerve roots Menstrual or spinal cord has signs of compression. The patient's health goes down, does not eat well, the body is always tired, may experience vomiting and constipation. Other symptoms include anemia due to bone marrow damage, opportunistic infections, and bleeding from thrombocytopenia. The patient had manifestations of primary cancer. To determine the most accurate diagnosis, the specialist doctor will assign the patient to perform some tests as follows:
Blood test, cancer marker test... Bone X-ray Bone scan Bone scan CT scan Computerized Bone Biopsy Bone Density Measurement 2.2 Differential Diagnosis Some diseases have symptoms similar to bone metastases, doctors need to make the diagnosis to differentiate from some diseases such as:
Tumors healthy bones. Osteoporosis or osteoporosis secondary to Multiple myeloma (Kahler's disease). Other bone malignancies
Bác sĩ cần phải làm thêm các chẩn đoán để phân biệt ung thư di căn xương với các bệnh lý khác
3. How is metastatic bone cancer treated?
3.1 Principles of treatment for bone metastatic cancer The main and most important treatment is symptomatic treatment, care and pain relief for patients to improve quality of life. Reduce pain, treat fractures if any, increase blood calcium and improve the patient's resistance.
Take measures to prevent or minimize bone resorption as well as bone metastasis and combine treatment with primary cancer if possible.
3.2 Treatment of specific bone metastatic cancer: Cancer that has metastasized to the bone is difficult to treat, most of the treatment indications only help reduce symptoms as well as pain for the patient. Treatment of symptoms of bone metastatic cancer including pain relief, anemia, and hypercalcemia:
Analgesia: Treatment of pain according to the WHO analgesic ladder, using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs In combination with antidepressants and neuroleptics
Treatment of hypercalcemia: dilute fluids, injection of diuretics, calcitonin, intravenous corticosteroids, intravenous bisphosphonates.
Treatment of anemia: Transfusion of red blood cells or other blood products as prescribed by the doctor, preventing or reducing bone destruction, slowing the progression of the disease.
Đa phần chỉ định điều trị chỉ giúp giảm bớt triệu chứng và đau đớn cho người bệnh
Surgical treatment: If the patient has a fracture or a spinal cord compression, they will be treated according to the doctor's prescription, removing the lesions when necessary. Take care of pain relief for patients with metastatic bone cancer and practice physical therapy and psychotherapeutic treatment if necessary.
According to medical studies, genetic cancer accounts for only 5-10% of total cases, and most diseases are caused by each person's lifestyle. So, to prevent this cancer, each person should practice for themselves a healthy lifestyle, limit high risk factors such as smoking, protect the body in the sun, have a healthy diet. healthy nutrition, maintain a balanced body, practice sports, and vaccinate against cancer if possible. In addition, each person should maintain a routine of regular health check-ups or cancer screening so that cancer can be detected early.
Vinmec International General Hospital is equipped with the world's leading medical equipment system, for high image quality, helping to diagnose diseases early. Professional team of doctors with experience, in-depth and methodical training at home and abroad, many doctors with long years of experience in nuclear medicine.
In addition to recognizing symptoms of bone metastases, laboratory tests are very important in early detection of bone metastases. Bone scintigraphy allows early diagnosis of bone metastases even when the patient has no symptoms and earlier than other diagnostic methods.
