Signs and symptoms of bone cancer

Last medical review:

Bone cancer may not cause any signs or symptoms in its early stages. Signs and symptoms often appear as the tumour grows and causes changes in the body such as pain or a lump. Other health conditions can cause the same symptoms as bone cancer.

The most common symptom of bone cancer is pain in a bone or joint that doesn’t go away. Movement or activity may make the pain worse. The pain is often worse at night.

Other signs and symptoms of bone cancer include:

  • swelling or a lump that can be felt over a bone
  • difficult moving or using a limb (for example, a limp when walking)
  • a bone that breaks because it is weakened by the cancer (called a pathological fracture)
  • tingling or numbness in a limb

Expert review and references

  • Michael Monument, MD, MSc, FRCSC
  • Kim Tsoi, BASc, MD, PhD, FRCSC
  • O'Donnell RJ, DuBrois SG, Haas-Kogan DA, Braunstein SE, Hameed M. Sarcomas of Bone. DeVita VT Jr, Lawrence TS, Rosenberg S. eds. DeVita Hellman and Rosenberg's Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer; 2023: Kindle version, chapter 61, https://read.amazon.ca/?asin=B0BG3DPT4Q&language=en-CA.
  • American Cancer Society. Bone Cancer. 2021. https://www.cancer.org/.
  • Strauss SJ, Frezza AM, Abecassis N, et al. Bone sarcomas: ESMO–EURACAN–GENTURIS–ERN PaedCan Clincial Practice Guideline for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Annals of Oncology. 2021: 32(12):1520–1536.

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