TITLE:
Palliative Radiotherapy for Painful Bone Metastases: Experience from Bogodogo University Teaching Hospital, Burkina Faso
AUTHORS:
Gael Kietga, Bertrand Compaore, Landry Zoungrana, Noufou Ouedraogo, Esdras Zongo
KEYWORDS:
Bone Metastases, Palliative Radiotherapy, Pain Relief, Sub-Saharan Africa
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Cancer Therapy,
Vol.17 No.9,
September
17,
2026
ABSTRACT: Introduction: Cancer remains a leading cause of global mortality, and bone metastases are among the most frequent complications of solid tumors, with incidence rising as survival after primary cancer treatment improves. Since bone metastases usually signal incurable disease, palliative radiotherapy accounting for over half of radiation oncology workloads worldwide is the mainstay of symptom management. While practice patterns have been well documented in North America, Europe, and Oceania, data from Africa remain limited. This study reports the experience of Bogodogo University Teaching Hospital (Burkina Faso) in managing patients receiving radiotherapy for painful bone metastases. Methods: A retrospective observational study included all patients treated with palliative radiotherapy for symptomatic bone metastases. Pain response was assessed against pre-treatment scores using internationally recognized criteria. Collected variables included age, sex, primary tumor site, metastatic site, lesion number, analgesic use, radiation dose/fractionation, and clinical evolution. Asymptomatic bone metastases, symptomatic non-bone metastases, and primary bone cancers were excluded. Follow-up occurred at day 3 and month 1. Results: Among 300 patients treated over one year, 24 (8%) had symptomatic bone metastases (58% male; median age 57.5, range 36 - 87). Prostate (41.67%), lung (33.33%), and breast (25%) cancers were the leading primary sites. The lumbar spine (58%) was the most common metastatic location. CT scan was the predominant imaging modality (66.6%). Most patients received 30 Gy (58%) or 20 Gy (42%). Overall pain response was 66.66% at 72 hours and 83.33% at one month. Discussion/Conclusion: Despite retrospective, single-center limitations and the difficulty of isolating radiotherapy’s effect from adjustments in oral analgesics, our results demonstrate an improvement in pain following radiotherapy of palliative radiotherapy in resource-limited settings. Expanding this research through larger multicenter cohorts will be essential to optimize palliative care delivery regionally.