Metastatic carcinoid of bone. Report of two cases and review of the literature

The skeletal manifestations of malignant carcinoid seem not to have been reported in the orthopedic literature. Bronchial and hindgut carcinoid tumors are less numerous than midgut tumors but metastasize to bone much more frequently. Carcinoid skeletal deposits are usually osteoblastic and most commonly affect the axial skeleton. The radiologic appearance is frequently indistinguishable from prostatic skeletal metastases or chronic sclerosing osteomyelitis. Two cases of skeletal metastases from midgut carcinoid are reported to demonstrate that metastases from carcinoid should be considered in the differential diagnosis of either bone malignancy or chronic sclerosing osteomyelitis.