These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: The management of metastatic bone pain in a developing country: the role of radiotherapy as an adjunct to weak opioids.
    Author: Adenipekun A, Alonge TO, Campbell OB, Oyesegun AR, Elumelu TN.
    Journal: Int J Clin Pract; 2002; 56(1):40-3. PubMed ID: 11831833.
    Abstract:
    Bone pain secondary to metastatic cancer is the commonest intractable pain and is a major concern in most oncology units the world over. Cancer pain management is multidisciplinary in approach, so there is no universal or singular modality of treatment. In a developing country like Nigeria, only external radiotherapy and adjuvant weak opioids are readily available, so it is of interest to review the response of these patients to this management option. This is a retrospective review of 92 patients aged 16-80 years with radiologically confirmed metastatic bone disease associated with pain who received external radiotherapy and weak analgesics. The results showed that 23 (25%) patients had a complete response and 67 (73%) had a partial response within four weeks of treatment. Total response was over 90%, which suggests external radiotherapy has an effective palliative role. The study also demonstrated the pattern of bony involvement among the common cancers seen in our environment. The availability of strong opioids (e.g. morphine and pethidine) will obviously consolidate the gains achieved with external radiotherapy in the management of metastatic bone pain in our environment.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]