Hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy in association with pulmonary metastases from extrathoracic tumours.

Three cases of pulmonary osteoarthropathy secondary to pulmonary metastases from extrathoracic tumours are described. Analysis of the reported cases shows that most of them were secondary to osteosarcoma, nasopharyngeal tumour, fibrosarcoma, and uterine tumour. Fibrous tumours and tumours with a predominantly fibrous stroma tend to be associated with osteoarthropathy more than others. This suggests that the fibrous stroma may be a factor in the stimulation of the reflex mechanism responsible for osteoarthropathy.