[Effectiveness of Strontium-89 for Neuropathic Pain Caused by Bone Metastases from Breast Cancer: A Case Report]

Kaku Igaku. 2019;56(1):117-120. doi: 10.18893/kakuigaku.cr.1901.
[Article in Japanese]

Abstract

The patient was a 47-year-old female with stage IV breast cancer and multiple bone metastases. She received various systemic therapies (hormone therapy and chemotherapy) and underwent mastectomy between 2013 and 2018; in the beginning of 2018, she started experiencing bone metastatic pain in the right hip joint and neural pain on the dorsal side of the left thigh. These symptoms worsened gradually, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics or narcotic analgesics were not effective for treating this pain. Strontium-89 (89Sr) treatment was administered in April 2018. The pain was relieved immediately after 89Sr treatment. The patient's quality of life improved markedly. She spent her remaining life without using analgesic drugs, until she died in October 2018 due to exacerbation of the original disease. Although radiotherapy is believed to be less effective for neuropathic pain than for bone metastatic pain, it should be considered as a treatment option in patients with neuropathic pain.

Keywords: Strontium-89; bone metastases; neuropathic pain; radioisotope therapy.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Bone Neoplasms / complications*
  • Bone Neoplasms / secondary*
  • Breast Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Breast Neoplasms / therapy
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuralgia / etiology*
  • Neuralgia / radiotherapy*
  • Pain Management / methods*
  • Quality of Life
  • Strontium Radioisotopes / therapeutic use*
  • Treatment Outcome

Substances

  • Strontium Radioisotopes
  • Strontium-89