Cancer induced bone pain

#### The bottom line Bone pain is the most common type of pain from cancer and is present in around one third of patients with bone metastases.1 2 Based on postmortem studies of patients with advanced cancer and clinical knowledge of how often bone metastases result in pain, the incidence of cancer induced bone pain is estimated at 30 000 patients in the United Kingdom each year.3 w1 Currently, improvements in cancer treatments mean that many patients are living with metastatic cancer for several years. The prevalence of cancer induced bone pain is therefore likely to be much greater than the annual incidence.w1 Cancer induced bone pain is considered one of the most difficult pain conditions to treat because of its frequent association with weight bearing and movement. Not surprisingly, it has a major impact on patients’ daily functioning and mood and can result in admission to hospital.w2 w3 #### Sources and selection criteria We searched Medline, Clinical Evidence, and the Cochrane Library using the terms “bone metastases”, “pain”, and “bone pain” and then combined these with the specific treatment terms individually. Where possible we have used systematic reviews but not referenced trials included in these reviews. We …