Side effects of chemotherapy in musculoskeletal oncology.

With recent advances in medical and orthopedic oncology, radiation therapy and single- or multiple-agent perioperative chemotherapy are currently applied as an essential part of the multidisciplinary treatment to improve disease-free and overall survival of patients with primary and metastatic bone and soft tissue tumors. However, these treatments have led to unwanted complications. A better understanding of the effects of various antineoplastic agents on bone, soft tissue, and organs may provide the basis for the more efficacious use of antiproliferative drugs when fracture healing or allograft incorporation is required. This knowledge may also provide a rationale for concurrent treatment with drugs that protect against or compensate for adverse effects in osseous repair resulting from chemotherapy.