Conditions
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Clinical information and resources for Stryker Interventional Spine products
Cancer
Cancer
Vertebral Tumors and Compression Fractures
Vertebral tumors can also cause compression fractures. Most tumors that affect the vertebrae have spread to the spine from cancer in another part of the body — often the prostate, breast, lung, or kidneys. Although the original (primary) cancer is usually diagnosed before back problems develop, back pain may be the first symptom of disease in many people with metastatic spinal tumors — as the cancer destroys the bone, the vertebrae collapse. If a spinal fracture occurs without known injury or underlying disease, such as osteoporosis, it could signal that a cancer has spread to the spine.
Multiple Myeloma and Compression Fractures
Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells found in the bone marrow. Plasma cells usually make up less than 5% of the cells in the bone marrow. Multiple myeloma causes a group of abnormal plasma cells (myeloma cells) to multiply, raising the percentage of plasma cells to more than 10% of the cells in the bone marrow. The result can be erosion of the bones, leading to fractures. These fractures occur most frequently in weight-bearing bones, such as the vertebrae in the spine. The exact cause of multiple myeloma isn't known.
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