title: Skeletal complications in cancer patients with bone metastases.
abstract: As a result of significant improvements in current therapies, the life expectancy of cancer patients with bone metastases has dramatically improved. Unfortunately, these patients often experience skeletal complications that significantly impair their quality of life. The major skeletal complications associated with bone metastases include: cancer-induced bone pain, hypercalcemia, pathological bone fractures, metastatic epidural spinal cord compression and cancer cachexia. Once cancer cells invade the bone, they perturb the normal physiology of the marrow microenvironment, resulting in bone destruction, which is believed to be a direct cause of skeletal complications. However, full understanding of the mechanisms responsible for these complications remains unknown. In the present review, we discuss the complications associated with bone metastases along with matched conventional therapeutic strategies. A better understanding of this topic is crucial, as targeting skeletal complications can improve both the morbidity and mortality of patients suffering from bone metastases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Shunsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tsuzuki
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Sun Hee
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Eber
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Department of Cancer Biology and Comprehensive Cancer Center, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. yshiozaw@wakehealth.edu.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shiozawa
mesh_terms: D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life
keywords: bone metastasis; cancer-induced bone pain; hypercalcemia; metastatic epidural spinal cord compression; pathological bone fractures; skeletal complications