Pain in the affected bone is the most common sign of bone cancer. At first, the pain is not constant. It may be worse at night or when the bone is used, for instance, leg pain when walking. As cancer grows, the pain will be there all the time and get worse with activity.
Bone cancer pain is common in patients with advanced breast, prostate, and lung cancer as these tumors have a remarkable affinity to metastasize to bone. Once tumors metastasize to bone, they are a major cause of morbidity and mortality as the tumor induces significant skeletal remodeling, fractures, pain, and anemia.