Breast Cancer Patients May Have a New Treatment Option When Cancer Spreads, University of California, Irvine Study

Newswise — For orthopaedic researcher Joyce Keyak, Ph.D., finding ways to battle breast cancer is a personal as well as a professional mission. Her cousin died from the disease several years ago. Dr. Keyak still remembers the incredible pain her cousin experienced when the cancer spread to her spine. A new study released by Dr. Keyak and her colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, shows patients whose breast cancer metastasizes to their spines may have a better option than the usual treatment, which can include up to 10 sessions of radiation therapy. The study looked at alternative — injecting radioactive bone cement into the vertebral body — with promising results.