TREATING CANCER PAIN 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 tumors of the breast, prostate, and lung.2 The spine and pelvis are most commonly affected by bone tumors, but it’s possible for bone tumors 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

A graphic indicating one in three cancer patients.

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 if:

  • Conventional treatments are considered ineffective or too slow acting.7
  • Conventional treatments cause unacceptable side affects.7

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 tumor 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 tumor. During the procedure, pumped water circulates through the probes to control the temperature and help reduce damage to the surrounding healthy tissue.

WATCH

CORY’S STORY

Cory received Medtronic OsteoCool™ RF ablation for her cancer pain.

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
Closeup image of elderly smiling woman

WATCH MORE PATIENT STORIES

Learn more about cancer pain relief with OsteoCool™ RF ablation through patient stories.

WATCH PATIENT STORIES

Information on this site should not be used as a substitute for talking with your doctor. Always talk with your doctor about diagnosis and treatment information.

1

Schulman, et al. Economic Burden of Metastatic Bone Disease. American Cancer Society, 2007.

2

Kurup AN, Callstrom MR. Ablation of Skeletal Metastases: Current Status. J Vasc Interv Radiol. 2010;21(8 Suppl): S242-S250.

3

Helmberger TK and Hoffman RT. Bone. In: Vogl TJ, Helmberger TK, Mack MG, Reiser, MF. Percutaneous Tumor Ablation in Medical Radiology. Springer, 2008; 243.

4

Goetz, et al. Percutaneous Image-Guided Radiofrequency Ablation of Painful Metastases Involving Bone: A Multicenter Study. J Clin Oncol. 2004;22(2):300–306.

5

Spiegel D, et al. Pain and depression in patients with cancer. Cancer. 1994;74:2570-2578.

6

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.

7

Sabharwal T, Katsanos K, Buy X, Gangi A. Image-Guided Ablation Therapy of Bone Tumors. Semin Ultrasound CT MRI. 2009;(2):78-90.