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The most common place that many cancers spread is to the bone. Once cancer has reached the bone, it is incurable and can cause significant symptoms such as pain, fractures and reduced quality of life. Indeed, over 100,000 Canadians will develop bone spread each year.

The Ottawa Hospital Bone Oncology Program has been established to tackle three particular issues –

1. Can we predict who will get bone metastases?
2. Can we predict what will happen once cancer goes to the bone?
3. Can we develop strategies to stop it spreading in the first place?

The program has been a tremendous success and is already shaping the way we treat patients with metastatic breast cancer. In our first study, that was funded by the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation we have identified that many patients with bone metastases can be treated once every 3 months and not every month – this means less trips to the cancer centre for patients!

This is one of the first fully integrated laboratory and clinical program specializing in bone metastases in North America. Colleagues in the laboratory and the clinic are now working closely together to further improve the treatment of patients with a range of cancers including prostate and lung, as well as breast. Indeed, Dr. Christina Addison has identified a new blood test in the samples of patients that can help us identify which patients with bone metastases will have the most complications. This work will now be expanded into larger numbers of patients with different types of cancer.

Mark Clemons FRCP(UK)
Division of Medical Oncology
 

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