Mednet Logo

How do you approach re-treatment if a patient still has pain from spine metastasis after 30 Gy in 10 fractions?

What dose/fractionation scheme do you use? Is SBRT a viable option? How long after the first treatment should one wait?
3 Answers
Mednet Member
Mednet MemberInvited Expert
Radiation Oncology · Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals
Answered on

There is a myth in radiation oncology that 30 Gy in 10 fractions (MF) is more durable than single fraction (SF) regimens. On average, patients treated with SF or MF regimens have pain relief that lasts about 4 months. On average, 50% of patients experience recurrence of pain, regardless of the initi...

Join for free or sign in to see the full answer

Mednet Member
Mednet MemberInvited Expert
Radiation Oncology · University of Colorado School of Medicine
Answered on

In addition to the excellent response by Dr. @Dr. First Last, a few things to consider: if spine met associated with pathologic fracture, radiation will not improve the pain due to the fracture. I try to advise my patients of this prior to treatment initiation. Also helpful to determine if the patie...

Join for free or sign in to see the full answer

Mednet Member
Mednet Member
Radiation Oncology · Jacob E Locke MD PA
Answered on

With APM on the horizon, I expect nearly everyone will get 8 Gy/1 fx regimens going forward...

Join for free or sign in to see the full answer