[Bone metastasis of malignant solid tumors in childhood]

A total of 452 cases of childhood malignant solid tumors were treated over the last twenty years at the National Children's Hospital. These included 175 cases of neuroblastoma, 64 cases of Wilms' tumor, 65 cases of malignant lymphoma, 45 cases of soft tissue sarcoma, 31 cases of hepatoma, 20 cases of malignant teratoma, 17 cases of testicular tumor, 7 cases of ovarian tumor and 28 cases of other forms of malignant solid tumor. Bone metastasis was observed in 62 of 175 cases of neuroblastoma, 3 of 64 cases of Wilms' tumor, one of 65 cases of malignant lymphoma, 4 of 45 cases of soft tissue sarcoma, one case of pulmonary blastoma and one case of osteogenic sarcoma, giving a total occurrence of bone metastasis in 72 of the 452 cases. The main sites of bone metastasis in neuroblastoma were the skull (61.4%), femur (56.8%), orbit (27.3%) and spine (22.7%). The average values of serum calcium and alkaline phosphatase activity showed no significant difference. The patients with bone metastasis were treated with a combination of radiation therapy and intensive chemotherapy, resulting in temporary improvement. The survival of patients with stage IV neuroblastoma with bone metastasis was worse than that of similar patients without bone metastasis.