Evita B Henderson-Jackson, Farah K Khalil
Background: A frequent consequence of renal cancer is bone metastasis which has devastating effects on patients. Bone metastases are identified radiologically and confirmed histologically by pathologists. In order to evaluate bone tissue microscopically, the tissue has to be decalcified. The decalcification process may damage tissue morphology and routine staining quality. Methods: In this short report, we will review our institution’s collection of bone specimens submitted for decalcification from January 2011 to August 2011 and select biopsy-proven metastatic tumors. Our objective is to briefly describe the types of malignancies commonly associated with metastasis to the skeletal system within our institution and report upon the advantages and disadvantages encountered in our pathology department when processing bone tissue. Results: Eighty-six bone specimens were identified with metastatic tumors from 83 patients (34 males and 49 females). The most common primary sites were breast, lung, kidney, and prostate. The frequent skeletal site for metastatic spread was the vertebral column. Conclusions: While the decalcification of bone tissue is labor-intensive and time-consuming, the histologic quality and integrity of immunohistochemical staining of our institution’s bone specimens with metastatic tumors are excellent.