EANM guidelines for radionuclide therapy of bone metastases with beta-emitting radionuclides

Abstract

The skeleton is the most common metastatic site in patients with advanced cancer. Pain is a major healthcare problem in patients with bone metastases. Bone-seeking radionuclides that selectively accumulate in the bone are used to treat cancer-induced bone pain and to prolong survival in selected groups of cancer patients. The goals of these guidelines are to assist nuclear medicine practitioners in: (a) evaluating patients who might be candidates for radionuclide treatment of bone metastases using beta-emitting radionuclides such as strontium-89 (⁸⁹Sr), samarium-153 (¹⁵³Sm) lexidronam (¹⁵³Sm-EDTMP), and phosphorus-32 (³²P) sodium phosphate; (b) performing the treatments; and