The need for bone biopsies in the diagnosis of new bone lesions in patients with a known primary malignancy: a comparative review of 117 biopsy cases

CONCLUSIONSThis study has found that 21.4% of newly identified bone lesions in patients with a single known malignancy were not clinically associated with their primary tumor. Furthermore, 3.4% of these were newly discovered malignant bone tumors. The presence of clinical symptoms was identified to be a significant factor affecting whether a new bone lesion was clinically linked to a patient's primary malignancy. It is therefore recommended that active biopsy should be performed on newly found bone lesions of patients with primary malignant tumors, especially on asymptomatic patients or those whose lesions are unidentified by image examination, so as to avoid misdiagnosis and improper treatment.
Source: Journal of Bone Oncology - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research