[Characteristics and diagnosis of neoplastic metastasis to bones]

On the basis of the analysis of 156 hospitalized patients, the most important traits differentiating metastasis of various organs to the bones have been presented. It has been found that the bones are most frequently invaded by kidney cancer, somewhat less frequently by breast cancer and the bronchus cancer and markedly more rarely by cancer of other organs. The types of metastasis expansion in the bones were determined radiologically: the most frequent--osteolytic, less frequent--mixed, and the osteoplastic type (prostate cancer, gall-bladder cancer, and pancreas cancer). Metastasis is situated most often in the spine and the femur. The authors have also presented the tactics of diagnosis of metastasis by using data from anamnesis, clinical and radiological examination and directed specialist examinations, for instance arteriography of the kidneys at suspicion of kidney cancer. In spite of complex diagnostics the source of metastasis was not found in over a dozen of patients.