# BIOMECHANICS OF METASTATIC DEFECTS IN BONE

> **NIH NIH R01** · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · 1987 · $122,008

## Abstract

Advances in the palliative treatment of patients with established
metastatic malignancies have not only prolonged patient survival but also
increased the incidence of bony metastases and subsequent pathological
fractures.  Thus, the prevention and effective treatment of fractures
associated with metastatic defects in bone has become an increasingly
important aspect of the care of cancer patients.  Unfortunately, there are
currently available only the crudest of clinical guidelines which may be
used to assess the increased fracture risk associated with metastatic
lesions in bond.  Therefore, the appropriate time for prophylactic
stabilization of impending fractures is not known.  This investigation will
be directed in the long term to the development of comprehensive
biomechanical guidelines for the orthopaedic assessment and treatment of
metastatic defects in long bones, the proximal femur, and the spine.  A
four-phase, staged approach will be used.  In Task I we will conduct
retrospective radiographic reviews of patients exhibiting metastatic
lesions in those regions and determine the most frequent sites and
approximate shapes of the lesions.  As part of this task, we will also
develop improved diagnostic imaging procedures for the description of
lesion geometries.  In Task II, we will determine in-vitro the strength
reductions associated with simulated defects in long bones, the proximal
femur and the spine.  In Task III we will use finite element modeling of
defects in these regions to provide a theoretical framework for
interpreting the experimental results and assessing the sensitivity of the
fracture risk predictors to individual patient variations.  In Task IV we
will combine these findings by developing structural predictors of fracture
risk for individual patients with particular lesions.  Biomechanical
guidelines appropriate for each skeletal region will be developed and
tested retrospectively in clinical populations. These guidelines should
represent a significant improvement in the orthopaedic care of patients
with metastatic defects in bone.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3179866
- **Project number:** 5R01CA040211-03
- **Recipient organization:** BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER
- **SAM.gov UEI:** C1CPANL3EWK4
- **Principal Investigator:** WILSON C HAYES
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1987
- **Award amount:** $122,008
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1985-07-01 → 1988-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3179866

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3179866, BIOMECHANICS OF METASTATIC DEFECTS IN BONE (5R01CA040211-03). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3179866. Licensed CC0.

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