Bone Metastases in Lung Cancer

Lung cancer patients frequently present with to bone metastases. Such lesions are responsible for increased morbidity, low quality of life, and increased costs to patients and the health care system. Pain is the most common symptom; however, these lesions also present as skeletal related events (SRE) which include pathological fractures, hypercalcemia, spinal cord and nerve compressions and cause the need for surgery and/or radiotherapy. Even though bone metastases are associated with poor prognosis, current treatment multimodalities continue to improve survival. Awareness and effective treatment of these lesions is paramount to maintain a good quality of life and function in lung cancer patients.