Table 1.
Pattern of practice in radiation doses in the treatment of bone metastases.
| First author (year) | Region | Time period | Number of RT courses delivered | Fractionation schedule | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kong (2007) | Canada | 1984–2001 | 44,223 RT courses to bone | 34.4% of RT courses were SFRT | [14] |
| Sutton (2006) | Canada | 1984–2004 | Patients who died of cancer between 1984–2004; 236,078 RT courses to bone delivered with palliative intent | In last 2 years of life: 30% were SFRT, 44% were five fractions, 11% were 10 fractions | [15] |
| Ashworth (2014) | Canada | 1984–2012 | 186,694 Palliative RT courses to bone | 41.3% of RT courses were SFRT | [24] |
| Danjoux (2006) | Canada | 1996–2003 | 2989 RT courses to bone | Single 8-Gy fraction in 45%, 20 Gy in five fractions in 42%, 30 Gy in 10 fractions in 4% | [16] |
| Haddad (2005) | Canada | 1998–2002 | 882 RT courses to bone | 32% of courses were SFRT | [17] |
| Bradley (2008) | Canada | 1999–2005 | 965 RT courses to bone | 65% of patients received SFRT | [18] |
| Naidoo (2011) | Canada | 2000–2010 | 17,682 Patients, 42% of which were referred for bone metastases | 20 Gy/5 fractions was most common, used to treat 59% of bone metastases SFRT used to treat bone metastases in 35% of patients | [19] |
| Wu (2010) | Canada | 2003–2005 | 1354 RT courses to bone | SFRT was prescribed in 57% of patients who went to rapid access clinic and 33% of patients who went to regular care | [20] |
| Thavarajah (2013) | Canada | 2005–2012 | 2549 Courses of RT to patients with bone metastases | 65% of RT courses were SFRT | [21] |
| Potter (2009) | Canada | 2007–2008 | 422 RT courses to bone metastases in 389 patients | Of 137 patients with uncomplicated bone pain, 48.9% were treated with SFRT | [22] |
| Olson (2014) | Canada | 2007–2011 | 16,898 Total courses of RT to 8601 patients | 49.2% SFRT; More than 10 fractions were prescribed to only 0.2% of patients | [23] |
| Foro Arnalot (2010) | Spain | 1990–2009 | 3042 Palliative treatments, 78.14% of which were to bone | 46.85% of courses were SFRT from 1990 to 1996, 49.25% were SFRT from 1999 to 2009 | [25] |
| Szostakiewicz (2004) | Poland | 1995–2002 | 1165 Patients irradiated to 1754 bone metastases | 19% of patients treated with SFRT | [26] |
| Laughsand (2013) | Norway | 1997–2007 | Patients treated with either 8 Gy/1 fraction or 30 Gy/10 fractions to bone metastases; 14,380 RT courses to bone metastases total | SFRT delivered to 31.3% of patients | [27] |
| Santacaterina (2004) | Italy | 2000 | 325 Patients treated to 458 bone metastases | 257 (79%) of patients were treated with MFRT (30 Gy/10 fractions) | [28] |
| Bhalla (2012) | United Kingdom | 2000 and 2006 | 120 Patients per year who received palliative radiation therapy to bone metastases | SFRT was prescribed in 42% of patients in 2000 and 40% in 2006 | [29] |
| Moller (2003) | Sweden | Sept–Dec 2001 | A total of 1144 irradiated sites of bone metastases | SFRT used in 37% of treatment sites | [30] |
| Williams (2006) | United Kingdom | One week, starting Sept 29, 2003 | Palliative radiotherapy given to 43% of 2498 patients (exact number for bone metastases not provided) | SFRT was the most common prescription, followed by 20 Gy in 5 fractions | [32] |
| van Oorschot (2011) | Germany | 1 month in 2008 | 62 Patients were treated to bone metastases | Of 18 patients who were treated to bone metastases with the intent of pain relief, only 2 received SFRT. Most common fractionation was 30 Gy/10 fractions for bone metastases | [31] |
| Chen (2013) | United States | 2003–2005 | 194 Patients with lung cancer who received radiation treatment to bone | 50% Received 6–10 fractions, 20% received five fractions or lower, 6% received a single fraction | [33] |
| Beriwal (2012) | United States | 2003–2010 | 7905 Sites of bone metastases treated with RT | 37.8% of patients received 1–5 fractions. Single-fraction was chosen for palliation in 13.5% of cases at academic centers, and 3.9% at community centers | [34] |
| Bekelman (2013) | United States | 2006–2009 | 3050 Patients treated with palliative RT to bone | 3.3% were treated with SFRT. When previously documented complicated bone metastases were excluded, 3.8% of 2028 patients were treated with SFRT | [36] |
| Bekelman (2014) | United States | 2006–2012 | 5160 Patients treated with palliative RT to bone | 4.0% were treated with SFRT. When previously documented complicated bone metastases were excluded, 4.1% of 4006 patients were treated with SFRT | [38] |
| Ellsworth (2014) | United States | 2007–2012 | 339 Patients whose final RT was for bone metastases | 8% Received SFRT 83% of patients were prescribed less than or equal to 10 fractions | [37] |
| Hess (2012) | United States | 2008–2009 | 207 and 213 breast and prostate cancer patients treated with palliative RT to bone | Majority of patients received at least 10 fractions | [35] |
| Holt (2010) | Australia | May–October 2005 | 77 and 207 RT courses for bone metastases at the rapid response clinic and regular care, respectively | 75% and 58% of patients were treated with SFRT to bone at the rapid response clinic and regular care, respectively | [39] |