Image-guided therapies in orthopedic oncology

The treatment of patients who have malignancies of bone often require multidisciplinary care. The aim of this review is to outline percutaneous techniques that may be useful for the diagnosis and treatment of these patients. In particular, the existing procedures of percutaneous biopsy, alcoholization (ethanol ablation), vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, osteoplasty, radiofrequency ablation, laser photocoagulation, and vascular embolization are reviewed. Aspects of each technique, including mechanism of action, patient selection, treatment technique, and recent patient outcome are presented.