Interventional Oncology
Diagnosing cancer
What are bone tumours?
When cells divide abnormally and uncontrollably, they can form a mass or lump of tissue. This lump is called a tumour. Bone tumors form in your bones. As the tumour grows, abnormal tissue can displace healthy tissue. Tumours can either be benign or malignant.
Benign tumours are not cancerous. While benign bone tumors typically stay in place and are unlikely to be fatal, they are still abnormal cells and may require treatment. Benign tumors can grow and could compress your healthy bone tissue and cause future issues.
Malignant tumors are cancerous. Malignant bone tumors can cause cancer to spread throughout the body. There are several types of cancer that produce malignant bone tumors. Primary bone cancer means that the cancer originated in the bones.
The term “secondary bone cancer” means that the cancer started somewhere else in the body and then spread to the bone. It usually affects older adults. The types of cancer most likely to spread to your bones are:
- kidney
- breast
- prostate
- lung
- thyroid gland