Of the estimated 562,340 people who will die of cancer in 2009, almost all will have metastasis to some part of the body. But certain cancers are more likely to spread to bone. These are breast, prostate, lung, thyroid, and kidney cancers. In people with breast and prostate cancer, the bone is most often the first distant site where the cancer will spread. One expert estimated that about 350,000 people in the United States who die of cancer each year have bone metastases.

Last Medical Review: 01/13/2008
Last Revised: 05/13/2009