JSOA Online

Metastatic tumors of the hand bones are very rare. This report presents three cases of metastatic lesions involving the bones of the hand. These metastases, with adenocarcinoma of the lung as the primary malignancy, were the first clinical presentation of adenocarcinoma in two of these patients. The hamate bone was involved in one patient and the proximal phalanx of the ring finger was involved in the other patient. The third patient developed metastatic disease to the distal phalanx 8 months after initial diagnosis. The authors emphasize that a lytic lesion in the hand may be the first clinical sign of a malignancy or progression to metastatic disease. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 17(4):267–270, 2008)