What is secondary bone cancer?
A malignant (cancerous) tumour is made up of millions of cancer cells. Some of these cells can break away from the original tumour and spread to the bones in different parts of the body through the lymph or blood system. These cells may be there for many years without causing any problems or symptoms. You may hear this type of spread described as metastases, recurrence of the cancer, secondary tumours or secondaries. The cells that have settled in the bone are breast cancer cells. It is not the same as having cancer that starts in the bone. The bone is the most common site of secondary cancer from the breast. The bones most commonly affected are the spine, skull, pelvis, hipbones or upper bones of the arms and legs. Bone contains two types of living cells, osteoclasts and osteoblasts, which assist in the formation of bone. Osteoclasts destroy and remove small amounts of old bone and osteoblasts help build up new bone. In secondary bone cancer the cancer cells that have spread to the bo
Secondary bone cancer is where malignant cells have spread to the bones from other parts of the body. This is different to cancer that actually started in the bones (primary bone cancer). Virtually all types of cancer can spread to bone. Bone metastases are particularly common in people with breast, lung or prostate cancer.
