Systemic radionuclide therapy with strontium chloride Sr 89 for painful skeletal metastases in prostate and breast cancer.

Systemic radionuclide therapy with strontium chloride Sr 89 is a rediscovered alternative to relieve pain from bony metastases. Although numerous advances have been made in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, pain remains a serious and debilitating disease complication. An increasing number of clinical trials are reporting satisfactory results with 89Sr-chloride therapy, now available for widespread clinical use. We have treated 11 patients with this radionuclide; of these patients, 8 had excellent to dramatic pain relief and 3 had mild to moderate improvement. Clinical response was based on subjective pain relief, increased mobility, decreased analgesic uptake, and/or improvement in daily activities, including work habits.