[Interventional radiology procedures in the treatment of bone metastasis]

Over the last ten years, there has been much development in the treatment of bone metastases using percutaneous image-guided interventional radiology procedures. They are helpful in the management of patients resulting in stabilization of bone lysis in order to achieve additional biomechanical stability and in significant symptomatic relief. Vertebroplasty consisting in an injection of an acrylic cement into a structurally weakened or destructed bone plays a major role in the management of specific bone weakening. Advances have been made also with the application of thermoablation procedures to bone tumors (radiofrequency ablation, cryotherapy). Since conservative treatment with analgesics is often insufficient and the analgesic effect of radiation therapy is delayed and sometimes ineffective, these image-guided procedures play a beneficial role in the management of bone metastases and need more evaluation.