Bone metastasis

Bone metastasis
3D rendered CT scan of bone metastases of the hip bone, in a 60 year old woman with parotid gland cancer. Large lesions are seen on the ilium on the more distant side. Involvement of the vertebral column has caused a compression fracture.
Specialty	Oncology

Bone metastasis, or osseous metastatic disease, is a category of cancer metastases that result from primary tumor invasions into bones. Bone-originating primary tumors such as osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, and Ewing sarcoma are rare; the most common bone tumor is a metastasis.^[1] Bone metastases can be classified as osteolytic, osteoblastic, or both. Unlike hematologic malignancies which originate in the blood and form non-solid tumors, bone metastases generally arise from epithelial tumors and form a solid mass inside the bone. Primary breast cancer patients are particularly vulnerable to develop bone metastases.^[2] Bone metastases, especially in a state of advanced disease, can cause severe pain, characterized by a dull, constant ache with periodic spikes of incident pain.^[3]