Bone Tumours
These are either:
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primary or secondary
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benign or malignant
Secondary bone tumours are much more common than primary bone tumours
Secondary bone tumours
The tumours which most commonly metastasise to bone (i.e. the primary tumours) are:
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BREAST
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BRONCHUS
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THYROID
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RENAL
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PROSTATE
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BOWEL
Location:
Metastases are found in the axial skeleton – spine, pelvis, ribs, long bones
Presentation:
in all cases the primary tumour may or may not be known
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Bone pain – night pain common +/- constitutional symptoms (weight loss, fatigue)
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Pathological fracture – tumour cells weaken bone by activating osteoclasts
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Spinal cord compression – pressure of tumour on nerve roots causing leg weakness
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Incidental – raised alkaline phosphatase on routine blood tests or osteolytic lesion on x-ray taken for another reason
Investigations:
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Regional Orthopaedics
