Re-irradiation for painful bone metastases - a systematic review

The purpose of this review was to determine the efficacy of re-irradiation in patients with bone metastases. A literature search was conducted in Ovid Medline, OldMedline, Embase, Embase Classic, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials using relevant subject headings and keywords such as bone metastases, radiotherapy and palliative care. The resulting articles were sorted for inclusion for palliative external beam radiation retreatment response rate data. The literature search produced 2164 references and 15 articles were included in the final selection. Complete, partial and overall response rates were calculated to be 20%, 50% and 68%, respectively. Information on treatment toxicities was scarce. The efficacy of re-irradiation is comparable to initial radiation treatment. However, aspects of re-irradiation treatment including dose fractionation, related adverse events and toxicities require further corroboration.