Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and one of the leading causes of cancer mortality in the United States. Due to its aggressive behavior and lack of effective therapies, palliation plays a critical role in the management of the disease. Most patients with pancreatic cancer suffer from severe pain, which adversely predicts prognosis and si...

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of metastatic bone pain palliation and medullar toxicity associated with samarium-153-EDTMP treatment. METHODS Seventy-three patients with metastatic bone pain having previously undergone therapy with samarium-153-EDTMP (1 mCi/kg) were retrospectively evaluated. Routine follow-up included pain evaluation and blood counts for 2 months af...

Introduction: Involvement of the skeleton can cause an excruciating pain in two-thirds of terminal patients with a history of malignancy. Due to several limitations of other therapies, such as analgesics, bisphosphonates, chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and external beam radiotherapy; bone-seeking radiopharmaceuticals have an important role in palliation of pain from bone metastases. Although th...

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for thoracic tumours has emerged as a minimally invasive therapy option for primary and secondary lung tumours and has gained increasing acceptance for pain palliation. The procedure is well tolerated and the complication rates are low. RFA provides the opportunity for localized tissue destruction of limited tumour volumes with medium and long term follow-up data s...

Two consecutive female patients presented with progressive jaundice, epigastric pain and weight loss. Cross-sectional imaging with computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging did not show any mass lesions whereas magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography showed common bile duct strictures. Both patients were then referred for endosonographic evaluation. Endoscopic ultrasound showed occ...

Pancreatic cancer is devastating due to its poor prognosis. Patients require a multidisciplinary approach to guide available options, mostly palliative because of advanced disease at presentation. Palliation including relief of biliary obstruction, gastric outlet obstruction, and cancer-related pain has become the focus in patients whose cancer is determined to be unresectable. Endoscopic stent...

BACKGROUND: Pain, dyspnea, and anorexia are common symptoms experienced by patients with cancer and often are poorly managed. METHODS: The incidence and causes of these symptoms are described, as well as factors that exacerbate or ameliorate their impact. RESULTS: Pharmacologic management of cancer pain is based on the use of a sequential "ladder" that incorporates nonopioid, opioid, and adjuva...

PURPOSE We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of the Magnetic Resonance-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) with the ExAblate Conformal Bone System for the palliation of painful bone metastases. MATERIALS AND METHODS Our Institutional Review Board approved this study, and all patients gave informed consent prior to enrollment. A total of six painful metastatic bone lesions in five patients...