In metastatic breast cancer, the tumor has spread to other parts of the body, such as the bones, skin, lungs, liver or brain. Some of these metastatic tumors (metastases) can also be treated individually. That will depend on where they are.
If there are metastases in bones, the cancer cells stop the bone tissue from building up and breaking down properly. This affects the stability of the bones, causing them to break more easily.
Pain in the bones can be treated with painkillers. The metastases can be treated using radiotherapy or surgery. The aim here is to stabilize the bones in order to prevent bone fractures and relieve the pain.
There are also medications that can slow down bone loss, such as bisphosphonates. Although these drugs can't completely prevent bones from being damaged by metastases, they at least slow down bone loss enough to reduce the likelihood of bone fractures or prevent fractures altogether. Severe side effects such as the death of jaw bone tissue (osteonecrosis of the jaw) are rare.
Another medication that inhibits bone loss is called denosumab. It can cause diarrhea, sweating and shortness of breath, as well as pain in the muscles and bones. It may affect the way the body metabolizes calcium, too. Denosumab is often associated with the death of jaw bone tissue and can also increase the risk of another cancerous tumor developing.
Metastases in the skin or internal organs – for instance, in the lungs or the liver – can be treated with surgery if
Metastases in only one lobe of the liver can also be treated with radiofrequency ablation (RFA), chemoembolization and stereotactic radiotherapy. The aim of these treatments is to damage the tumor tissue so badly that it can no longer grow. They do this using heat, medications, the closure of blood vessels or precisely targeted radiation. These approaches are usually followed by treatment with medication.
Metastatic tumors sometimes grow in the membranes around the lungs (the pleura) too. This can lead to a build-up of fluid in the pleural cavity (the narrow space between the lungs and the ribs). The medical term for this is pleural effusion. It can cause breathing difficulties and pain. Surgery can be done to seal up this space and prevent fluid from building up there.
Clearly outlined metastases on the skin or metastases in muscles can be surgically removed or treated with radiotherapy. If the metastases are still quite small and located on the surface of the skin, ointments containing a chemotherapy drug might help too.
Metastases in the brain can lead to severe pain. The pain may be caused by swelling or fluid building up in the brain. Depending on where brain metastases are, they can affect your sense of balance or result in paralysis in some areas of the body.
Individual brain metastases can be operated on and then the affected part of the brain can be treated with radiotherapy. If there are several metastases in the brain, the whole brain is treated with radiotherapy. Another option is radiosurgery, where a very specific area of the brain is treated with high-dose radiation. That way, the surrounding tissue is exposed to less radiation than when radiotherapy is used on the whole brain.
Pain and other effects of swelling in the brain can be relieved with medication.
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gynäkologie und Geburtshilfe (DGGG), Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft (DKG). Interdisziplinäre S3-Leitlinie für die Früherkennung, Diagnostik, Therapie und Nachsorge des Mammakarzinoms. AWMF-Registernr.: 032-045OL. 2021.
Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft (DKG), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hämatologie und medizinische Onkologie (DGHO), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Radioonkologie (DEGRO). S3-Leitlinie Supportive Therapie bei onkologischen PatientInnen. AWMF-Registernr.: 032-054OL. 2019.
IQWiG health information is written with the aim of helping people understand the advantages and disadvantages of the main treatment options and health care services.
Because IQWiG is a German institute, some of the information provided here is specific to the German health care system. The suitability of any of the described options in an individual case can be determined by talking to a doctor. informedhealth.org can provide support for talks with doctors and other medical professionals, but cannot replace them. We do not offer individual consultations.
Our information is based on the results of good-quality studies. It is written by a team of health care professionals, scientists and editors, and reviewed by external experts. You can find a detailed description of how our health information is produced and updated in our methods.
Stay informed
Subscribe to our newsletter or newsfeed. You can find our growing collection of films on YouTube.