Radiation Therapy
Radiofrequency Ablation
Surgery

Radiation therapy, radiofrequency ablation, and surgery may be used for pain relief rather than as treatment for primary cancer. Certain chemotherapy drugs may also be used to manage cancer -related pain.

Local or whole-body radiation therapy may increase the effectiveness of pain medication and other noninvasive therapies by directly affecting the cause of the pain (for example, by reducing tumor size). A single injection of a radioactive agent may relieve pain when cancer spreads extensively to the bones. Radiation therapy also helps reduce pain-related interference with walking and other functions in patients who have cancer that has spread to the bones. It is possible for pain to come back after radiation therapy, though more studies about this need to be done.

Radiofrequency ablation uses a needle electrode to heat tumors and destroy them. This minimally invasive procedure may provide significant pain relief in patients who have cancer that has spread to the bones.

Surgery may be used to remove part or all of a tumor to reduce pain directly, relieve symptoms of obstruction or compression, and improve outcome, even increasing long-term survival.

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