Analgesic radiation therapy for bone metastasis in Dakar

Background: Three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy is a new tool in the Senegalese therapeutic arsenal. Symptomatic bone metastases affect the quality of life of patients. Analgesic radiotherapy is proposed to patients to relieve them. Patients and methods: A prospective descriptive study was carried out on all patients with symptomatic bone metastasis. Hypo-fractionated radiotherapy was performed on the painful site. The visual analogue scale was used to assess pain before radiotherapy, 72 hours and one week after. Results: The sex ratio was 0.5. The median age at diagnosis of symptomatic metastasis was 53 years. All patients received 8 Gy (Gray) in one session. A complete response was noted one week post radiotherapy. Conclusion: Analgesic radiotherapy improves the quality of life of patients with symptomatic bone metastasis.