A short-term retrospective analysis of the clinical, histopathological and immunohistochemical aspects of bone metastases

Abstract

Bone is a typical location of metastasis that usually reflects a negative outcome in oncologic patients. Once cancer has spread to the bones, it can rarely be cured, but sometimes it can be treated to minimize its rate of proliferation. Most skeletal metastases are produced by tumors originating in the breast and prostate. Osseous metastases are actually much more frequent than primary bone tumors, especially in adults. The diagnosis relies on signs, symptoms, and imaging techniques. This paper is a review of all cases of bone metastasis from our unit and a comprehensive review regarding the clinical approach and treatment of patients with such lesions.

Breast cancer and musculoskeletal implications - potential mechanism of dissemination

“…The mechanism regarding the preference of bone metastasis for HR+ breast cancer remains unknown. However, some studies pointed out that this phenomenon may be associated with tumor dormancy [9] (dissemination of breast cancer cells takes place long before the detection of cancer metastases and a part of these cells might survive and become dormant in bone marrow). The dormant cancer cells with positive expression of HR, which are hormone responsive, could be reactivated by steroid hormone and they subsequently develop metastasis disease in bone).…”