Bone Cancer

Bone cancer is a cancer of the cells that make up the bones of the body. When cancer is found in bones, it has usually started in another organ or another location in the body and has spread to the bones. This is known as metastatic cancer and is named for the site at which the original cancer started (for example, metastatic colon cancer) and is not referred to medically as bone cancer. It is much more common than true, or primary, bone cancer, where the bone cells themselves become malignant. Primary and metastatic bone cancers are often treated differently and may have a different prognosis.

There are other cancers that may begin in the bone even though they are not considered to be true bone cancers. Lymphoma is a cancer of the cells involved in the immune response. Lymphoma usually begins in the lymph nodes, but it sometimes begins in the bone marrow. Multiple myeloma is another cancer of the immune cells that typically begins in the bone marrow. These tumors are not considered to be primary bone cancers because they do not arise from bone cells.

Types of Bone Cancer

1. Primary - A primary bone cancer is one that starts in the bones. The cancer cells are bone cells that have become cancerous. All the information in this section is about primary bone cancer.
2. Secondary - A secondary cancer in the bones has spread from somewhere else in the body. This is also called metastatic cancer. The cancer cells are like the cells of the original tumour. So if you have had breast cancer and it spreads to the bones, the cancer cells in the bones will actually be breast cancer cells.