Pathologic Fracture of Odontoid Process Due to Metastasis of Bronchial Carcinoma: A Rare Cause of Neck Pain

J West Afr Coll Surg. 2025 Feb 4;16(1):96-99. doi: 10.4103/jwas.jwas_135_24. eCollection 2026 Jan-Mar.

ABSTRACT

The common cause of neck pain in the elderly is degenerative disease. Metastasis to the atlantoaxial spine is rare and is a sequela of prostate cancer, thyroid carcinoma, breast cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma, renal cell carcinoma, or bronchial carcinoma. We present the case of a healthy 66-year-old female patient with severe neck pain with loss of range of motion (ROM) as an index sign of pathologic fracture caused by odontoid process metastasis due to bronchial carcinoma. After staging C2 vertebroblasty was planned, but not performed because the general condition of the patient worsened rapidly until death within 4 weeks after first symptoms.

PMID:41789053 | PMC:PMC12959867 | DOI:10.4103/jwas.jwas_135_24