title: Impact of skeletal complications on patients' quality of life, mobility, and functional independence.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Skeletal-related events (SREs) from malignant bone disease cause considerable morbidity and can dramatically reduce patients' quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pathologic fractures often require surgical intervention and palliative radiotherapy. Thus, patients suffer impaired mobility, loss of functional independence, and diminished health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Bisphosphonates can delay the onset and reduce the incidence of SREs and have become the standard of care for the treatment of malignant bone disease; however, minimal information on the effects of bisphosphonate treatment on HRQOL is available. Targeted HRQOL assessments for patients with malignant bone disease are currently under development and are discussed herein.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Medicina Molecular-Lisboa, Servico de Oncologia, Hospital de Santa Maria, Av Professor Egaz Moniz, Lisbon, 1649-039, Portugal. luiscosta.p@netcabo.pt
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Badia
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lipton
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wardley
mesh_terms: D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000556:secondary*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D004164:Diphosphonates / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D000077211:Zoledronic Acid
chemical_list: D050071:Bone Density Conservation Agents; D004164:Diphosphonates; D007093:Imidazoles; D000077211:Zoledronic Acid