External beam radiotherapy in metastatic bone pain from solid tumours in Zaria, Nigeria

Aim : To evaluate the effectiveness of external beam irradiation in bone pain secondary to metastases; with emphasis on the onset of symptoms relief, the duration of response and relate onset of pain relief to age in=40years and =40years patients. Setting : Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria. Result : Breast cancer is the commonest cause of metastatic bone pain from solid tumours in Zaria, Nigeria. Females were more commonly affected. Two out of every 5 patients were less than 40 years old. Eighty-six percent of the patients obtained significant pain relief in the first week of treatment. At 12 weeks, the mean pain score and analgesic scores were 0.67 and 0.16 respectively. Conclusion :External beam irradiation is an effective treatment modality in an African population with metastatic bone pain.