Skeletal Tropism of Bone Metastasis in Breast

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women, with approximately 182,000 women diagnosed annually in the United States-representing 26% of all cancer incidence in women. It carries the lifetime mortality risk of 3.4% in women. The defining feature of “malignancy” in breast cancer is its ability to metastasize or travel to distant sites to form secondary cancers. Breast cancer also demonstrates exquisite preference to metastasize to bone, followed by followed by liver, lung and brain a process known as organ tropism. The molecular factors implicated in the skeletal tropism of breast cancer will be reviewed.