Can bone metastases be prevented?

Doctors don’t know how to prevent all bone metastases. But it may be possible to prevent many cases of bone metastasis if cancers are found and treated effectively before they have had a chance to spread. This is especially true for cancers that tend to spread to the bones, such as breast and prostate cancers.

Some cancers, such as breast cancer, can often be found early with screening tests, before they have a chance to spread. But many cancers cannot reliably be found early by any of the tests we have now, and some cancers may have already spread before they are found.

There are ways to reduce your risk of getting cancer in the first place, such as not smoking, staying at a healthy weight, getting regular physical activity, and eating a healthy diet (including limiting alcohol).

Researchers are studying ways to prevent metastasis in people who already have cancer, but at this time the best way to do this is to treat the cancer before it has spread.