Do you recommend treatment of the entire extent of the hardware and/or bone when treating a bone metastasis that has received pre-irradiation surgical stabilization?
For example, would you treat the entire length of the femur after prophylactic intramedullary rod fixation for a femoral neck metastasis?
2 Answers
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Radiation Oncology · Varian Medical Systems/Allegheny health network
Answered on
In the era where imaging like MRI, CT scan, or PETCT is routinely performed, we have not been chasing entire hardware and only treating image based disease with a generous margin. I would not worry about microscopic disease along the entire hardware when the goal and endpoint is palliation.
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Mednet Member
Radiation Oncology · University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine
Answered on
A systematic review in 2015 reported a lack of clinical evidence for postoperative radiotherapy after surgical fixation of pathologic long bone fractures, finding only two articles, both of which were retrospective cohort studies. However, radiotherapy is often given in this clinical scenario, espec...
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