External beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for asymptomatic bone metastases in patients with solid tumors reduces the risk of skeletal-related events (SREs)

The potential benefit of administering external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) to patients with asymptomatic bone metastases has rarely been addressed in clinical investigations. The aim of this study was to determine if cancer patients who were treated with EBRT for asymptomatic bone metastases experienced later onset of pain and skeletal-related events (SREs) than those who were untreated. A retrospective chart review was conducted for prostate, breast, and lung cancer patients with asymptomatic bone metastases treated at a single cancer center from 2007 to 2017. Patients who received EBRT for asymptomatic bone metastases were compared to those who received medical or supportive therapy only. When all cancer groups were combined, the median time from the diagnosis of asymptomatic bone metastases to either moderate-to-severe pain or an SRE was 25 months for the untreated patients and 81 months for the patients receiving EBRT (P