Signs and Symptoms of Bone Cancer

Bone tumors can affect any bone in your body. They can also affect related tissue, like cartilage. The symptoms of bone cancer depend on where the tumor is, how large it is, and whether it has spread to other parts of your body.

Note: This information focuses on bone cancers that are seen most often in adults and start in the bones (primary bone cancers). Osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, and bone metastases are covered separately.

Bone cancer symptoms caused by the main tumor

The most common symptoms of bone cancer are:

• Pain
• Lump or swelling
• Fractures
• Weight loss
• Fatigue

Pain

Pain in the area of the tumor is the most common sign of bone cancer. At first, the pain might not be there all the time. It may get worse at night or when the bone is used, such as when walking if the tumor is in a leg bone. Over time, the pain can become more constant, and it might get worse with activity.

Cancer in the bones of your spine can press on the nerves coming out of the spinal cord. This can cause numbness and tingling or weakness in different parts of your body, depending on where the tumor is.

Sometimes a tumor weakens a bone to the point where it breaks, which can cause a sudden, intense pain.

Lump or swelling

Some bone tumors cause a lump or swelling in the area, although this might not happen until sometime after the area becomes painful.

Cancers in the bones of your neck sometimes cause a lump in the back of your throat that can lead to trouble swallowing or breathing.

Fractures

Bone cancer can weaken the bone, but this usually doesn’t cause a bone to fracture (break). People with a fracture next to or through a bone tumor usually describe sudden, severe pain in a bone that has been sore for a few months.

Weight loss

When you have cancer, your body uses a lot more energy as the cancer cells grow and divide. Because of this, some people with cancer may experience weight loss without a change in diet or exercise.

Fatigue

You may feel more tired or weak if you have cancer. This is true of many types of cancer, not only bone cancers. Fatigue can be caused by many things other than cancer as well.

Signs or symptoms caused by bone cancer that has spread

If bone cancer spreads to other organs, it can also cause other symptoms. For example, if the cancer spreads to your lungs, it might result in a cough or trouble breathing.

When to talk to your health care team

Bone cancer isn’t common, and the symptoms it can cause are more likely to be due to other conditions, such as injuries or arthritis. Still, if you have symptoms that go on for a long time or get worse, it’s important to see a doctor so the cause can be found and treated, if needed.