Tumors and tumor like processes Flashcards
Metastatic bone tumors- primary tumor sights
prostate breast lung kidney thyroid bowel
cancer below the knees and elbows is usually what stage of cancer
primary cancer
clinical features of metastatic bone tumors
patients over 40yrs old
weight loss, cacexia, bone pain (worse at night)
pain may not be presenting feature
not all metastasis lead to neurological disorders
metastatic spine disease can involve one of 3 location
vertebral collumn-85%
paravertebral region-10-15%
epidural/ subarachnoid/ intramedullary space
Cancers metastasise by three routes
- direct extension
- lymphatic channels
- hematogenous dissemination
what plexus provides a rapid pathway for cancer cells to seed the bone bypassing the liver and lungs
Batson’s venous plexus
What are the two types of metastatic lesions
lytic lesion- occur as a result of pressure erosion from the medullary tumor deposits and are unrelated to osteoclastic activity (breaks bone down)
blastic lesion- reactive repair response of local osteoid tissue to the presence of tumor (builds bone)
What are the general conditions of a patient with a metastatic tumor?
- cachexia (weight loss)
- anemia (fatigue, lethargic)
- hydration
- nutritional
In a blood investigation of a patient with cancer, what are you likely to find?
- Anemia
- Thrombocytopenia
- Increased LDH, uric acid, cal., ALP
- Increased acid phosphotase (prostate), TFT
- Serum marker
A lytic lesion may not be visible until what?
it reached 2-3cm in diameter, need 30-50% of bone destruction to become visible
what is it called when only one pedicle is visible
- this is called the winking owl sign (metastasis to one pedicle)
- if this is genetic in nature rather than a metastasis then the visible pedicle will be sclerotic
A blind vertebra represents what?
bilateral, pedicular destruction from metastatic disease, leaving no eyes in the spine
In which order do you approach a patient who you suspect has a metastatic tumor, or any cancer in general?
- x-ray
- bone scan
- CT
- MRI
- biopsy
What are you looking for on a bone scan?
looking for black area, this indicates raised metabolic activity
OSTEOID OSTEOMA (benign tumor) - clinical features
- 2:1male predominance
- 10-25 years of age
- pain is worse at night (nothing relieves it)
- alleviated by aspirin (65% of patients)
- painful rigid scoliosis with the lesion on the concave side of the curve, usually in lumbar spine (exam)
- 50% occur in femur and tibia, 10% in spine (usually in neural arch)
OSTEOID OSTEOMA (benign tumor) - treatment and prognosis
- surgical excession is possible
- it is not necessary to remove the reactive sclerosis even though this may be the major part of the radiologic presentation
- prognosis is very good, with little chance of recurrence