Secondary bone cancer
Deciding about treatment can be difficult. You need to understand:
what treatment can do for you
any side effects of the treatment
how many visits to hospital the treatment involves
You can stop whenever you want if you find it too much to cope with.
Talk through your options with your doctor or specialist nurse. You may find it helpful to talk things over with a close relative or friend or a counsellor if one is available.
Your treatment will depend on a number of factors including:
your type of primary cancer
the treatment you have already had
how many bones are affected by cancer
whether your cancer has spread to other parts of the body
your general health
your symptoms
You may have one or more of the following treatments for secondary bone cancer.
Some cancers, such as breast and prostate cancer, depend on hormones to survive and grow. So lowering hormone levels in the body can help to control them. You might have the hormone treatment as a tablet or injection.
Find out more about hormone therapy
Radiotherapy treatment uses high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. Radiotherapy can help to control cancer growth and symptoms.
You might have external radiotherapy. This means a machine outside the body directs radiation beams at cancer to destroy it. Each radiotherapy treatment is called a fraction and takes a few minutes. You might have one dose of radiotherapy to help with the pain. Or you might have several treatments over several days.
Go to information about external radiotherapy
Radioisotope therapy gives radiation from inside the body. For some cancers, you might have a type of radioisotope therapy called radium 223. This works best for cancers that started in the prostate gland or the thyroid gland.
You have an injection of a small amount of radium. The cancer cells take this up and give a dose of radiotherapy to these areas. You might need this more than once depending on your cancer type.
After the treatment, some radiation may be present in your pee (urine) and poo (stool) for up to 7 days. The total amount is extremely small and gets lower each day.
Your healthcare team will let you know if there are any safety guidelines you need to follow. This will include how long you need to follow them. It depends on the amount of radium you have had.
Find out more about having radium 223
Chemotherapy uses anti-cancer drugs to kill cancer cells. The type of chemotherapy you have depends on the type of primary cancer.
The first type of chemotherapy you have is called 1st-line treatment. If this doesn't control your cancer, you might have a different type of chemotherapy. This is called 2nd-line treatment.
Find out more in the chemotherapy section for your cancer type
Targeted cancer drugs target the differences that help cancer cells survive and grow.
Your doctor may suggest a targeted drug if it is suitable for your primary cancer.
Denosumab is a type of targeted therapy called a monoclonal antibody. It helps strengthen the bones and reduces the risk of them breaking. You have it as an injection under the skin.
Go to information about denosumab
Bisphosphonates are bone-hardening or strengthening drugs. They slow down or prevent bone damage and lower calcium levels. You have bisphosphonates as a drip into your bloodstream (intravenous) or by mouth.
People with myeloma or breast cancer might have treatment with bisphosphonates. They help control pain and strengthen spinal bones. If you have prostate cancer, you might have bisphosphonates if painkillers are not working well enough.
Find out more about bisphosphonates
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) kills cancer cells by heating them up. RFA is quite a specialised treatment and you may have to travel to a specialist centre to have it.
Find out more about radiofrequency ablation
Your doctor might suggest you see a surgeon. This is to see if they can help strengthen weakened bones. This is not a very common treatment. It includes having metal pins put in, or a joint replaced (such as a hip joint).
Surgery can also help fix a fracture in a weakened bone.
You may have rods put in to stabilise and strengthen your spine if you have cancer there.
Your doctor may suggest injecting a special cement into your bones. You might have this if your cancer is causing pain or the spinal bones have collapsed.
Kyphoplasty is similar, but your doctor uses a balloon through a needle to help create the normal shape of the bone.
Find out more about vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty
Many of the treatments help to control pain by shrinking the tumour. This reduces pressure on nerves or surrounding tissue. Painkillers might still be necessary after you have had treatment, but you may be able to reduce the amount you take.
Read more about treating cancer pain
High calcium levels in your blood can make you feel drowsy, weak, constipated, and confused. Treatment includes medicines called bisphosphonates as well as fluids through a drip. This helps to flush the calcium out of your body.
High calcium in people with cancer
You may feel tired if cancer affects your bone marrow. This is because the level of red blood cells has dropped. Red blood cells are made in the bone marrow. Your doctor may suggest blood tests to check your blood cell counts. You might have a blood transfusion if your red blood cells are low.
Research on secondary bone cancer is ongoing to help:
improve treatments
people to cope with symptoms
Cancer Research UK supports many UK and international clinical trials.
Last reviewed: 16 Oct 2026
Next review due: 16 Oct 2029
Coping with secondary cancer can be very difficult. Getting the help and support you and your family need can help.
Find out about managing cancer symptoms and possible side effects from cancer treatment. There is information about pain, sickness, diet problems and much more.
A primary cancer is where a cancer starts. Sometimes cancer cells can break away from the primary cancer and settle and grow in another part of the body. This new cancer growth is called secondary cancer.
Secondary bone cancer is when a cancer that started in another part of the body has spread to the bones. It is also called bone metastases.
Choose your cancer type from our A-Z list.
