A prospective randomised trial of 4 Gy or 8 Gy single doses in the treatment of metastatic bone pain

Abstract 270 patients with painful bone metastases requiring palliative radiotherapy were randomised to receive single fractions of 4 Gy or 8 Gy in a randomised trial. Pain scores and analgesic usage were recorded before treatment and at 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks. Pain was assessed by patients on a 4 point graded scale using pain charts administered by a central trials office. Response was defined as an improved rating compared to the pretreatment value. Compliance with the pain chart was 72% at 4 weeks. At 4 weeks, the actual response rates were 69% for 8 Gy and 44% for 4 Gy ( p