A profile of metastatic carcinoma of the spine.

Metastatic bone disease in 322 patients was analyzed to assess the frequency and behavior of disseminated carcinoma to the vertebral column. Breast, lung, and prostate neoplasms were the most frequent tumors of origin in the 55% of patients who had vertebral lesions. The lumbar spine was the site of the greatest number of metastases. Back pain did not occur in 36% of the 179 patients with spinal disease. Cord compression occurred in 20% of the patients with vertebral involvement, and prostate tumors were the most frequent neoplasm to cause epidural spinal cord impingement. Hypernephroma was the most common cancer to present as a neurologic deficit secondary to an undetected primary malignancy.