title: [Skeletal metastasis pattern in non-small cell lung cancer and its related factors.].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To study the pattern of skeletal metastasis in non-small cell lung cancer and its associated factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six hundreds and thirty-eight patients with non-small cell lung cancer pathologically proved were retrospectively reviewed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The percentage of skeletal metastasis was 35. 3 % in 638 cases. Multiple metastasis accounted for 201 cases. The sites of metastatic lesions for each patient was 3. 4. There was highly significant difference in different site of skeletal metastasis , for instance , thorax , spine , pelvis , limbs and skull in order of incidence ( P < 0. 005) . Bone metastasis rate of adenocarcinoma and adenosquamous carcinoma groups was remarkably higher than that of squamous cell carcinoma ( P < 0. 005) , which was highly significant higher in stage III - IV than that in stage I - II ( P < 0. 005) . The rate in patients with lower-differentiated lung cancer was also highly significant higher than those with well-differentiated cancer ( P < 0. 005) .
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Skeletal metastasis is frequent in patients with lung cancer. Bone imaging should be performed routinely in all lung cancer patients , and it is helpful to estimate the stage and to make the therapeutic arrangement of lung cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery , The First Affiliated Hospital , Chongqing Medical University , Chongqing 400016 , P. R. China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ge