Relation between pain and skeletal metastasis in patients with prostate or breast cancer

The aim of this study was to examine the relation between pain and bone metastases in a group of patients with prostate or breast cancer that had been referred for bone scintigraphy. Whole-body bone scans, anterior and posterior views obtained with a dual detector gamma camera were studied from 101 consecutive patients who had undergone scintigraphy (600 MBq Tc-99m MDP) because of suspected bone metastatic disease. At the time of the examination, all patients were asked whether they felt any pain or had recently a trauma. This information was correlated with the classifications regarding the presence or absence of bone metastases made by a group of three experienced physicians. In patients with prostate cancer, we found metastases in 47% (18/38) of the patients with pain, but only in 12% (2/17) of the patients without pain (p = 0.01). In patients with breast cancer, on the other hand, metastases were more common in patients without pain (71%; 10/14) than in patients with pain (34%; 11/32) (p = 0.02). In conclusion, a significant relation between pain and skeletal metastases could be found in patients with prostate cancer and a reverse relation in patients with breast cancer.