bone tumor bone tumor a bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thyroid, kidney and prostate. there may be a lump, pain, or neurological signs from pressure. a bone tumor might present with a pathologic fracture. other symptoms may include fatigue, fever, weight loss, anemia and nausea. sometimes there are no symptoms and the tumour is found when investigating another problem. bone tumornon-ossifying fibroma of tibiaspecialtyorthopedicssymptomslump, pain, neurological signs, unexplained broken bone, fatigue, fever, weight loss, anemia and nausea. sometimes no symptomstypesnoncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant)diagnostic methodmedical imaging, biopsyprognosisvaries with typefrequencycommon diagnosis is generally by x-ray and other radiological tests such as ct scan, mri, pet scan and bone scintigraphy. blood tests might include a complete blood count, inflammatory markers, serum electrophoresis, psa, kidney function and liver function. urine may be tested for bence jones protein. for confirmation of diagnosis, a biopsy for histological evaluation might be required. the most common bone tumor is a non-ossifying fibroma. average five-year survival in the united states after being diagnosed with bone and joint cancer is 67%. the earliest known bone tumor was an osteosarcoma in a foot bone discovered in south africa, between 1.6 and 1.8 million years ago. classification x-ray of a giant cell bone tumor in the head of the 4th metacarpal of the left hand. an arm bone tumor bone tumors are traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). several features of bone tumors and soft tissue tumors overlap. their classification was revised by the world health organization (who) in 2020. this newer classification categorises bone tumors into cartilage tumors, osteogenic tumors, fibrogenic tumors, vascular tumors of bone, osteoclastic giant cell-rich tumors, notochordal tumors, other mesenchymal tumors of bone, and hematopoietic neoplasms of bone. bone tumors may be classified as "primary tumors", which originate in bone or from bone-derived cells and tissues, and "secondary tumors" which originate in other sites and spread (metastasize) to the skeleton. carcinomas of the prostate, breasts, lungs, thyroid, and kidneys are the carcinomas that most commonly metastasize to bone. secondary malignant bone tumors are estimated to be 50 to 100 times as common as primary bone cancers. primary bone tumors primary tumors of bone can be divided into benign tumors and cancers. common benign bone tumors may be neoplastic, developmental, traumatic, infectious, or inflammatory in etiology. some benign tumors are not true neoplasms, but rather, represent hamartomas, namely the osteochondroma. the most common locations for many primary tumors, both benign and malignant include the distal femur and proximal tibia (around the knee joint). examples of benign bone tumors include osteoma, osteoid osteoma, osteochondroma, osteoblastoma, enchondroma, giant cell tumor of bone and aneurysmal bone cyst. malignant primary bone tumors include osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, ewing's sarcoma, fibrosarcoma, and other types. while malignant fibrous histiocytoma (mfh) - now generally called "pleomorphic undifferentiated sarcoma" - primary in bone is known to occur occasionally, current paradigms tend to consider mfh a wastebasket diagnosis, and the current trend is toward using specialized studies (i.e. genetic and immunohistochemical tests) to classify these undifferentiated tumors into other tumor classes. multiple myeloma is a hematologic cancer, originating in the bone marrow, which also frequently presents as one or more bone lesions. germ cell tumors, including teratoma, often present and originate in the midline of the sacrum, coccyx, or both. these sacrococcygeal teratomas are often relatively amenable to treatment. secondary bone tumors secondary bone tumors are metastatic lesions which have spread from other organs, most commonly carcinomas of the breast, lung, and prostate. rarely, primary bone malignancies such as osteosarcoma may also spread to other bones. reliable and valid statistics on the incidence, prevalence, and mortality of malignant bone tumours are difficult to come by, particularly in older adults (those over 75 years of age) - because carcinomas that are widely metastatic to bone are rarely ever curable. biopsies to determine the origin of the tumour in cases like this are rarely done. signs and symptoms