Bone Pain and Muscle Weakness in Cancer Patients

Abstract

Purpose of review In this article we will discuss the current understanding of bone pain and muscle weakness in cancer patients. We will describe the underlying physiology and mechanisms of cancer-induced bone pain (CIBP) and cancier-induced muscle wasting (CIMW), as well as current methods of diagnosis and treatment. We will discuss future therapies and research directions to help patients with these problems. Recent Findings There are several pharmacologic therapies that are currenly in pre-clinical and clinical testing that appear to be promising adjuncts to current CIBP and CIMW therapies. Such therapies include resiniferitoxin, which is a targeted inhibitor of nociptive nerve fibers, and selective androgen receptor modulators, which show promise in increasing lean mass. Summary CIBP and CIMW are a significant causes of morbidity in affected patients. Current management is mostly palliative; however, targeted therapies are poised to revolutionize how these problems are treated.

No Difference in the Phenotypic Expression of Frailty among Elderly Patients Recently Diagnosed with Cancer vs Cancer Free Patients

“…Our findings are somewhat surprising, since multiple types of cancer in the elderly are known to be associated with weight loss (7), as corroborated by our findings, but also reduced physical activity (19), muscle weakness (20), and fatigue (21), all of them composing the frailty phenotype. However, this was not the case in our study, suggesting that older subjects with a recent diagnosis of cancer have similar health status, as illustrated by both the frailty phenotype and the FI, than sameage peers receiving the same healthcare services to fight against frailty.…”

LOFAR 150-MHz observations of SS 433 and W 50

“…The W 50 nebula (Westerhout 1958) is a large, non-thermal, Galactic radio source, at the centre of which is the X-ray binary system SS 433 (Stephenson & Sanduleak 1977), a known source of relativistic jets (Fabian & Rees 1979;Margon et al 1979a,b;Liebert et al 1979;Milgrom 1979;Abell & Margon 1979). These jets, with mean velocity 0.26c, precess about an axis with a period of 162.4 d, where the half-opening angle of the precession cone is 21 • and the precession axis is inclined at 78 • to the line of sight (Eikenberry et al 2001; also see Margon 1984).…”

Optimization and In Vivo Profiling of a Refined Rat Model of Walker 256 Breast Cancer Cell-Induced Bone Pain Using Behavioral, Radiological, Histological, Immunohistochemical and Pharmacological Methods

“…It is somewhat counter-intuitive that primary breast tumors at the original site cause less or no pain, yet once these cells have metastasized to bone, patients may suffer excruciating pain ( Lozano-Ondoua et al, 2013 ). In the clinical setting, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), strong opioids, medications that inhibit the activity of osteoclasts like bisphosphonates, bone targeted monoclonal antibodies, radiation therapy and surgical management are the mainstay of pharmacotherapeutic treatment of BCIBP ( Kane et al, 2015 ; Milgrom et al, 2017 ). A major challenge involved in understanding the interplay of mechanisms underpinning the pathobiology of BCIBP is establishment of a suitable rodent model which exhibits characteristics similar to those of BCIBP in humans ( Slosky et al, 2015 ).…”