Early Detection of Bone Disease

摘要

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer and 212,000 of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2006. In at least 80 percent of the cases that result in death, tumors will have spread to bone and significantly damaged the skeleton. This damage often causes uncontrollable pain and usually goes undetected until it is too late to treat effectively. Bone cancer spreads quickly because the skeleton is a nutrient-rich environment for the malignant cells. As tumor cells multiply, they also send signals to the body that trigger a rapid increase in bone destruction.