The development of bone metastases as the first sign of metastatic spread in patients with primary solid tumours

The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate the incidence of bone metastases as the first sign of metastatic spread in patients with primary solid malignant tumours. Between January 1987 and December 1998, we treated 867 patients suffering from primary solid malignant tumours. Their average age was 67 (range: 30-96) years and all were thoroughly investigated with a complete physical examination and laboratory tests as well as imaging studies and bone scans. No bone metastases were found at the time of the initial diagnosis, and the patients were then re-assessed every 6 months for the first 5 years and then once a year. We found that, regardless of treatment, bone metastases appeared in a certain number of patients and that after excluding patients with prostate cancer a bone metastasis was the first sign of "recurrence" in 1.3% of the patients with a known primary solid malignant tumour.