Cancers affecting bone are difficult to treat and are a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life. The cells of the bone are surrounded in an environment (marrow or matrix) which may support tumor cells, or be attractive to the spreading tumor cells (metastases). The cells include osteoblasts (bone forming); osteoclasts (bone removing); stem cells with the potential to form these and other cells, and also supportive cells.

If bones are affected by cancer, the normal architecture is replaced by tumor tissue. This process may be slow or rapid, and the ensuing weakness causes significant pain and fragility. The associated disease is very disabling and leads to a greatly reduced quality of life. All these cells are being researched to better understand their function in normal and disease states. This information will be used to develop drugs to arrest tumor growth and improve bone strength. [back...] 

Left: treatment for bone cancer often involves strengthening or replacing damaged bones [bottom] as compared with a normal hip [top].