[The art of diagnosing bone tumors]

Bone tumors are infrequent and at times difficult to diagnose, especially when the medical team is not familiar enough with this type of pathology. A close relationship between the surgeon, the radiologist and the pathologist is necessary to diagnose bone neoplasias. A thorough case history and physical exam are mandatory to get the first clinical impression. After the former aspects, conventional radiology offers a powerful tool for the characterization and differential diagnosis of bone tumors and seudotumor lesions. Patient age and radiologic findings are very important to reach a diagnosis. Supplementary studies contribute to stage the lesion and guide the biopsy and they are necessary to plan the definitive surgery. Biopsy is a very important procedure that should be performed at the hospital by the surgeon who will later perform the definitive surgery. When the pathologist gets the tissue specimen, regardless of the type of biopsy, the entire patient history should be considered before making the final diagnosis.