EANM guidelines for radionuclide therapy of bone metastases with beta-emitting radionuclides

The skeleton is the most common metastatic site in patients with advanced cancer. Pain is a major healthcare problem in patients with bone metastases. Bone-seeking radionuclides that selectively accumulate in the bone are used to treat cancer-induced bone pain and to prolong survival in selected groups of cancer patients. The goals of these guidelines are to assist nuclear medicine practitioners in: (a) evaluating patients who might be candidates for radionuclide treatment of bone metastases using beta-emitting radionuclides such as strontium-89 ((89)Sr), samarium-153 ((153)Sm) lexidronam ((153)Sm-EDTMP), and phosphorus-32 ((32)P) sodium phosphate; (b) performing the treatments; and ©) understanding and evaluating the treatment outcome and side effects. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00259-018-3947-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.