Strontium-89 (Sr-89) analgesia for rare thymic carcinoid tumor with bony metastases

The authors report the cases of two patients in whom strontium-89 (Sr-89) w as used to relieve diffuse metastatic bone pain. The type of cancer involve d, thymic carcinoid tumor, is itself rare and the risk of its metastasizing to the bone is very low. Both patients showed a measure of response to tre atment, suggesting that this analgesic method has value for some patients. The marked benefit of one patient for a total of 9 months was attributable to two Sr-89 injections, whereas the other patient improved for only 5 week s after one injection.