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Natural History, Prognosis, Clinical Features and Complications of Metastatic Bone Disease

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Book cover Bone Metastases

Part of the book series: Cancer Metastasis – Biology and Treatment ((CMBT,volume 12))

Abstract

The survival and prognosis of patients with metastatic bone disease varies widely and depends on many factors including the histologic type and grade of the primary tumor, performance status and age of patients, presence of extraosseus metastases, level of tumor markers and extend of skeletal disease. Bone metastases are inevitably associated with considerable morbidity and suffering, and severe complications such as pain, pathological fractures, spinal cord or nerve root compression, impaired mobility, bone marrow infiltration and hypercalcemia of malignancy. All aforementioned complications are thoroughly discussed, giving emphasis to associated symptomatology, clinical features and patient evaluation. The last part of the chapter deals with symptom clusters that occur in patients with bone metastases before and after treatment. Such symptoms are pain, depression, fatigue, drowsiness, anxiety, shortness of breath, nausea, poor sense of well being and poor appetite.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Patras Medical School, 26504 Patras, Greece

    Vassilios Vassiliou, Edward Chow & Dimitrios Kardamakis

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  1. Vassilios Vassiliou
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  2. Edward Chow
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  3. Dimitrios Kardamakis
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Correspondence to Vassilios Vassiliou .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Radiation Oncology, University of Patras Medical School, 265 04, Patras, Greece

    Dimitrios Kardamakis MD, PhD, DMRT  & Vassilios Vassiliou MD, PhD  & 

  2. Dept. of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M4N 3M5, Canada

    Edward Chow MBBS, PhD, FRCPC

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Vassiliou, V., Chow, E., Kardamakis, D. (2009). Natural History, Prognosis, Clinical Features and Complications of Metastatic Bone Disease. In: Kardamakis, D., Vassiliou, V., Chow, E. (eds) Bone Metastases. Cancer Metastasis – Biology and Treatment, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9819-2_4

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