Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Bone Metastases From Breast or Prostate Cancer

Inclusion Criteria

• •DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Histologically proven breast or prostate cancer
• •Radiographic evidence of bone metastasis within 8 weeks of study
• •Eligible treatment sites:
• •* Weight-bearing sites:
• •* Pelvis (excluding pubis)
• •* Femur
• •* Sacrum and/or sacroiliac joints
• •* Tibia
• •* Non-weight-bearing sites:
• •* Up to 5 consecutive cervical, thoracic, or lumbar vertebral bodies
• •* Lumbosacral spine
• •* Up to 3 consecutive ribs
• •* Humerus
• •* Fibula
• •* Radius with/without ulna
• •* Clavicle
• •* Scapula
• •* Pubis
• •* If multiple sites are treated, site is included as weight bearing if any of the sites include the pelvis, sacrum, femur, or tibia
• •Worst pain score of at least 5 on a scale of 10
• •No skull, feet, or hand metastases
• •No spinal cord or cauda equina compression/effacement in vertebral metastases
• •PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:
• •Age:
• •18 and over
• •Performance status:
• •Karnofsky 40-100%
• •Life expectancy:
• •At least 3 months
• •Hematopoietic:
• •Not specified
• •Hepatic:
• •Not specified
• •Renal:
• •Not specified
• •Other:
• •No impending fracture of the treatment site
• •No hematologic primary malignancies
• •Negative pregnancy test
• •PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:
• •Biologic therapy:
• •No change in immunotherapy within 30 days
• •Chemotherapy:
• •No change in chemotherapy within 30 days
• •Endocrine therapy:
• •No change in hormonal therapy within 30 days
• •Radiotherapy:
• •No prior radiation therapy to treatment area
• •At least 30 days since systemic radiotherapy (Sr 89)
• •Surgery:
• •No prior palliative surgery to treatment area
• •No planned surgical fixation of the bone