Metastatic bone disease from occult carcinoma: a profile.

To assess the general profile of metastatic bone disease from occult primary carcinoma, the records of 172 patients with skeletal metastases seen between 1965 and 1985 were reviewed. In 51 patients (30%), the origin of the primary could not be identified when bone metastases were first diagnosed. This group were predominantly male with a high incidence of spinal metastases, cord compression and pathological fractures, and a significantly shorter (P less than 0.

Omental angiogenic lipid fraction and bone repair. An experimental study in the rat.

A lipid material extracted from the omentum has previously been shown to contain a potent angiogenetic activator (20), capable of creating intense vasoproliferation in traumatized tissues (19). This study was undertaken to analyze the efficacy of local administration of this omental lipid fraction on osseous vascularization and bone repair. An osteoperiosteal segmental femoral defect in the rat was replaced by a demineralized allogenic bone graft exposed to continuous local delivery of omental lipid via an implanted miniosmotic pump.

Metastatic carcinoma of the spine. A study of 92 cases.

In a retrospective study of 172 patients with disseminated carcinoma in the skeleton, 54% were shown by radiography and scintigraphy to have vertebral metastases. Breast carcinoma was the most common primary tumour, occurring in 30% of the patients, followed by lung (17%), prostate (10%) and kidney (9%). The lumbar spine was most often involved and some primary carcinomas showed a predilection for particular spinal segments.