[Therapeutic effects of strontium-89 against osseous metastases of lung cancer: analysis of 126 cases].

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the therapeutic effects of strontium-89 against osseous metastases of lung cancer.

METHODS

A total of 126 patients with osseous metastases of lung cancer received strontium-89 treatment ((89)SrCl(2)) at the dose of 148 MBq given through a single intravenous injection. The analgesic effect was evaluated by the changes in the degree, frequency and scores of the pain, and the therapeutic effect assessed by observing the changes in the number and volume of osseous lesions after therapy and compared between different pathological types of lung cancer by Ka-square test.

RESULTS

Within 6 months after the injection, the total pain relief rate was 70.6% (89/126), including 25 (19.8%) cases with pain vanished, suggesting significant alleviation of the pain intensity by the treatment (u=5.361, P<0.01). The frequency of pain was reduced in 78.6% (99/126) of the cases (u=4.589, P<0.01), and the average score of pain decreased significantly from 7.54+/-3.29 to 4.19+/-4.38 (t=6.865, P<0.001). The number and size of lesions decreased by more than 25% in 57 cases, showing a total efficacy rate of 45.2% (57/126). No significant difference was noted in the therapeutic effects among the 4 pathological types of lung cancer (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Strontium-89 is effective for pain relief and tumor focus confinement in osseous metastases of lung cancer. No significant difference has been found in its effect between 4 different pathological types of lung cancer.