Bone Metastasis Reirradiation Predictors of Quality of Life

Background Many patients, once irradiated for bone metastasis, may need to be reirradiated, as palliative radiotherapy of painful bone metastasis is important for pain relief. Our aim was to assess the predictive value of reirradiation features on quality of life of these patients. Methods and materials Between 2012 and 2016 we reirradiated 44 patients with in-field bone recurrence. The first irradiation dose varied from 27-60 Gy and all patients showed complete or partial pain relief. Patients were retreated either in the vertebral spine (cervical, thoracic and lumbar vertebras), humeral head or pelvic bones. Both single dose (8Gy, 22 patients) and multifractionated (5x4Gy or 10x3Gy, 22 patients) radiotherapy were employed. Quality of life was assessed both at baseline and after reirradiation. Results The median interval between irradiations was 30 months (7-80months), and the median follow-up after retreatment was 13 months (2-39 months). While age, cancer type and treatment region did not have any significant role in improvement of quality of life, longer distance between two irradiations and higher Karnofsky score had a significant positive impact. Conclusion Longer periods between irradiations predict better quality of life achievement after reirradiation.