title: Assessment of Response to Therapy for Bone Metastases: Is it Still a Challenge in Oncology?
abstract: Bone is one of the most common sites of metastases from cancer. Most anticancer treatments are highly toxic but only a fraction of all patients respond to them. Guidelines are needed to evaluate the response in the routine practice of oncology as well as in clinical trials in which new treatment options are evaluated. All current imaging procedures have major limitations. This article reviews old and new criteria for response evaluation. The major problem of accurate response evaluation in bone disease is discussed in detail. Some examples from our daily practice illustrate the difficulties. The indications for bone biopsy are also reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Oncology, Domaine Universitaire, B35, CHU Sart Tilman Liège, Belgium. Electronic address: Joelle.collignon@chu.ulg.ac.be.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Collignon
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Oncology, Domaine Universitaire, B35, CHU Sart Tilman Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gennigens
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Oncology, Domaine Universitaire, B35, CHU Sart Tilman Liège, Belgium; University of Liège, Domaine Universitaire, B35, Liege 4000, Belgium.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jerusalem
keywords: Bone metastasis; Breast cancer; Diagnostic imaging; FDG-PET; Prostate cancer; Response assessment