Abstract
As lung cancer is the most common neoplasm worldwide, bone is one of the most metastatic sites of advanced malignant tumors in general. Nearly 50% of patients with advanced lung cancer develop bone metastases. A literature review on this matter was performed.
As in recent years the life expectancy of patients with lung cancer increased, symptoms control measures are gaining importance. The early detection of bone metastases is crucial due to prevent skeletal-related events (SREs). The bone metastases management should be discussed in a multidisciplinary setting given the numerous therapeutic options. Treatment is either pharmacological (analgesics, diphosphonates, monoclonal antibodies), non-pharmacological (radiotherapy, interventional radiological techniques, surgery) or even a combination of both. Orthopedic surgery shall be assessed in case of pathological/impending fractures. The orthopedic surgeon challenge is indeed to detect those patients who will take advantage from surgery given the substantial risk of complications. Treatment goal should be to obtain SREs prevention and control to guarantee patients a decent QoL. Unfortunately, bone metastases in lung cancer are still poor prognosis indicator.