Facilitation and suppression of bone metastasis.

Most patients with cancer die because the cancer metastasizes to other organs. Bone is 1 of the 3 most common sites of tumor metastasis, and is a catastrophic complication of cancer, because it is associated not only with intractable pain, but also with other morbidity that usually hastens an uncomfortable death. Despite its importance, to date no specific therapies to prevent this complication of cancer or treat it once it occurs have been demonstrated. In this article, current understanding of the processes involved in the pathophysiology of bone metastasis will be reviewed, and approaches aimed at preventing the development of a bone metastasis and treating bone metastasis once it has occurred will be discussed.