PURPOSE: The primary objective of this report is to prospectively evaluate @entity158 control provided by palliative radiotherapy for all irradiated @entity1 with bone @entity3 by using their own assessments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective database was set up for all @entity1 referred for palliative radiotherapy for bone @entity3 . @entity1 were asked to rate their @entity158 intensity using an 11 categorical point scale (0=lack of @entity158 , 10=worst @entity158 imaginable). Analgesic consumption during the preceding 24 h was recorded and converted into equivalent total daily dose of oral @entity1286 . For those who received radiotherapy, follow-up was conducted via telephone interviews at week 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 post treatment using the same @entity158 scale and analgesic diary. Radiotherapy outcome was initially assessed by @entity158 score alone. Complete response (CR) was defined as a @entity158 score of 0. Partial response (PR) was defined as a reduction of score > or =2 or a> or =50% reduction of the pre-treatment @entity158 score. We further analyzed outcomes using integrated @entity158 and analgesic scores. Response was defined as either a reduction of @entity158 score > or =2 with at least no increase in analgesics or at least stable @entity158 score with a > or =50% reduction in analgesic intake. RESULTS: One hundred and five @entity1 were treated with palliative radiotherapy. When response evaluation was by @entity158 score alone, the PR rates at 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks were 44, 42, 30 and 38%, respectively; while the CR rates were 24, 32, 31 and 29%, respectively. The overall response rate at 12 weeks was 67%. When assessed by the integrated @entity158 and analgesic scores, the response rates were 50, 46, 43 and 43%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The response rate in our @entity1 population is comparable with those reported in clinical trials. This is important when counselling our @entity1 on the expected effectiveness of radiotherapy outside of clinical trials. Our observations confirm the generalizability of the trials conducted to date. While randomized trials still remain the gold standard of research, observational studies can serve as useful adjuncts to randomized trials to confirm the efficacy and guide the design of new controlled trials.

Prospective XXXX -based assessment of effectiveness of palliative radiotherapy for bone @entity3 .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['Patients', 'patients', 'patient'] @entity3 :: ('MESH:D009362', 'Disease') :: ['metastases'] @entity1286 :: ('MESH:D009020', 'Chemical') :: ['morphine'] @entity158 :: ('MESH:D010146', 'Disease') :: ['pain']
@entity1 :: (9606,Species) :: ['patient']
