Cancer pain treatment with radiofrequency ablation
METASTATIC BONE DISEASE AND CANCER PAIN
Metastatic bone disease occurs when cancer metastasizes or moves into surrounding bone. Bone is invaded in 60-80% of patients with metastatic disease,1 most frequently among patients with primary tumours of the breast, prostate, and lung.2 The spine and pelvis are most commonly affected by bone tumours, but it’s possible for bone tumours to invade all areas of the body.3
Cancer that has moved to the surrounding bone can be extremely painful—making every day even more challenging. Metastatic bone disease can further affect quality of life by producing complications such as fractures and decreased mobility,4 along with mood changes such as depression and anxiety.5
1 IN 3
CANCER PATIENTS
Are left with inadequate treatment or undermanaged pain control because treatments like opioids, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy did not work for them.6
TREATING CANCER PAIN WITH RADIOFREQUENCY ABLATION
Your pain may be worse if you have failed or are not a candidate for conventional cancer therapies such as opioids, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy.7 If this sounds like you, you may be a candidate for radiofrequency (RF) ablation, a minimally invasive procedure designed to help treat cancer pain.
RF ablation may be a treatment option for you:
- When conventional treatments are considered ineffective or too slow acting7 , for example when metastases have become radiotherapy resistant7
- When conventional treatments cause unacceptable side affects7
- When you are not (or no longer) eligible for conventional treatment
- As a complementary treatment to radiotherapy. Research has shown that a combination of radio frequency ablation (RFA) and radiotherapy (RT) in 53.3% of cases lead to a complete decrease in pain, as opposed to 16.6% with radiotherapy alone.8
OsteocoolTM RF Ablation clinic finder tool
HOW TREATMENT WORKS
RF ablation uses alternating, low power current to generate heat during the procedure. The heat is delivered by a probe to the tumour to intentionally dry out and kill cancerous cells. OsteoCool™ RF ablation, a Medtronic RF ablation treatment, allows your doctor to deliver the ablation energy to the precise size and location of your tumour. During the procedure, pumped water circulates through the probes to control the temperature and help reduce damage to the surrounding healthy tissue.
KNOW YOUR OPTIONS AND TAKE THE NEXT STEP
If you’re living with cancer pain, you may think it is a natural part of the disease or its treatment and is something that must be endured. You may have decided that side effects from pain medications must be tolerated in exchange for pain control. But managing pain is possible.
Medtronic offers radiofrequency ablation, in addition to other therapies, to help treat cancer pain — so you can do more of the everyday things that make life special.
UNDERSTAND
THE PROCEDURE
Learn more about what to expect during the OsteoCool™ RF ablation procedure for cancer pain.
LEARN ABOUT OSTEOCOOL
Referenced path does not exist
Schulman, et al. Economic Burden of Metastatic Bone Disease. American Cancer Society, 2007.
Kurup AN, Callstrom MR. Ablation of Skeletal Metastases: Current Status. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2010;21(8 Suppl): S242-S250.
Helmberger TK and Hoffman RT. Bone. In: Vogl TJ, Helmberger TK, Mack MG, Reiser, MF. Percutaneous Tumour Ablation in Medical Radiology. Springer, 2008; 243.
Goetz, et al. Percutaneous Image-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation of Painful Metastases Involving Bone: A Multicenter Study. J Clin Oncol. 2004;22(2):300–306.
Spiegel D, et al. Pain and depression in patients with cancer. Cancer. 1994;74:2570-2578.
Anselmetti, et al. Treatment of Extraspinal Painful Bone Metastases with Percutaneous Cementoplasty: A Prospective Study of 50 Patients. Cardiovasc Intervent Radiol. 2008;31:1165-1173.
Sabharwal T, Katsanos K, Buy X, Gangi A. Image-Guided Ablation Therapy of Bone Tumours. Semin Ultrasound CT MRI. 2009;(2):78-90.
Di Staso M, Zugaro L, Gravina GL, Bonfili P, Marampon F, Di Nicola L, Conchiglia A, Ventura L, Franzese P, Gallucci M, Masciocchi C, Tombolini V. A feasibility study of percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation followed by Radiotherapy in the management of painful osteolytic bone metastases. Eur Radiol. 2011 Sep;21(9):2004-10. doi: 10.1007/s00330-011-2133-3. Epub 2011 May 1. PMID: 21533865.
Goetz MP, Callstrom MR, Charboneau JW, et al. Percutaneous image-guided radiofrequency ablation of painful metastases involving bone: A multicenter study. J Clin Oncol 2004; 22: 300-306