Orthopedics Hip & Knee Causes of Pain Is My Hip Pain Cancer? By Rachel Macpherson Updated on November 30, 2022 Medically reviewed by Stuart Hershman, MD Print Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Types Symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Pain in your hip may be scary, but cancer is only one reason you may feel this pain. Common reasons for sharp, burning, or aching pain can be conditions like arthritis and bursitis, injuries, or severe causes like joint infections or fractures. Knowing the signs of hip cancer can help you determine when to see your healthcare provider and what to expect. This article looks at types and symptoms of hip cancer, how it's diagnosed and treated, and what else could be causing your hip pain. kali9 / Getty Images Types of Hip Cancer Hip cancer can be caused by primary cancer that originates in the hip or cancer that started elsewhere in the body and spread to the hip. There are different types of hip cancer. Bone Cancer Cancer that starts in the bone is called primary bone cancer. There are several types of primary bone cancer, including: ChondrosarcomaOsteosarcomaChordomaEwing’s sarcoma Bone Cancer: Overview and More Metastatic Cancer Metastatic cancers of the hip are cancer that started elsewhere in the body and has spread to the hip and is more common than primary bone cancer. Cancers in the hip can occur in the: Bone marrowSoft tissueCartilage Certain types of cancer spread to bones more than others. These include: ThyroidBreastProstateLung cancers Leukemia Leukemia is one of the most common forms of hip cancer. It forms in the bone marrow, where cancerous cells overtake healthy cells. How this occurs and how quickly depends on the type of leukemia. Symptoms and Signs of Cancer in the Hip Pain Pain is the most common symptom of hip cancer. It can come and go and be worse at night, gradually worsening and becoming continuous. At first, it may subside with movement, but later, activity can make the pain worse, especially as the bone weakens. As the bone weakens, fractures can occur, though this is not common. If a fracture is through a tumor, the pain is often sharp and much worse than previously. Bone Loss May Lead to Fractures Bone cancer can weaken the bone, leading to fracture. Bone fractures across a tumor are very painful. Often, if severe pain occurs in a bone that has been sore for some time, it is due to a fracture. Other Common Symptoms Swelling, with or without a palpable lump Fever and chills Enlarged lymph nodes Feeling generally ill, nauseous or tired Night sweats Signs of hypercalcemia such as constipation, thirst, weakness, joint pain Emergency Symptoms Some symptoms of hip cancer require immediate medical attention. If your pain is severe, seek help right away. Other emergency signs include: Changes in mental status or consciousness such as behavior change, delusions, confusion, passing out, or becoming unresponsiveSeizureBleedingDifficulties with breathingHeart palpitations or heartbeat abnormalitiesChest pain or tightnessA blueish tinge of the lips or fingernailsFever higher than 101 degrees FahrenheitAny difficulty with movement in your hip or leg Diagnosing Hip Cancer To diagnose hip cancer, your healthcare provider will perform an exam and, if necessary, will order further tests. Office Exam If hip cancer is suspected, the healthcare provider will perform a physical check for lumps, pain, and swelling, as well as any other symptoms. A history of any illnesses and conditions, health practices, and past medical care or treatments may be taken. Tests Standard tests for hip cancer include imaging tests like: X-raysCT scansMRIsBone scansPET scansPET-CT scans Imaging tests can help healthcare providers get a view of where unhealthy tissue may be. Blood tests might be performed. A sample of tissue will likely be extracted with a biopsy to confirm a diagnosis. The biopsy should be performed by a cancer specialist, especially if the tumor will need to be removed surgically. Biopsies can be done with a needle or surgery. Other Causes of Hip Pain Depending on your symptoms and early findings, your healthcare provider may check for other possible sources of your hip pain. These may include: Osteoarthritis: "Wear-and-tear" arthritis that becomes more common with age Rheumatoid arthritis: An autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks the joint lining, causing inflammation and pain Psoriatic arthritis: An autoimmune disease involving psoriasis (a skin condition) and joint inflammation and pain Septic arthritis: Infection in a joint that causes inflammation and pain Osteomyelitis: Infection in a bone that causes inflammation and pain Injury: May involve the bones, cartilage, muscles, connective tissues, or nerves of the hip Osteonecrosis: Bone death in the top of the femur (thigh bone) caused by lack of blood flow Femoral acetabular impingement: Abnormal growth that may signal early hip arthritis Treatment The type of treatment for hip cancer depends on the type of cancer it is and what stage it is in. Generally, this can include medication and surgery. Treatment Depends on the Type of Cancer Some cancer requires surgery, while others respond to targeted therapy. Often, a combination of treatments will be used, especially if the surgery does not remove all cancerous cells. Medication Medications used to treat hip cancer include targeted therapy drugs, chemotherapy drugs, as well as radiopharmaceuticals. Chemotherapy is often used for bone hip cancers that are diagnosed as Ewing’s sarcoma or osteosarcoma. Other types of bone cancer are not responsive to chemotherapy drugs. Chemotherapy is a treatment for primary cancer or those that have spread (metastasized) to other areas. Targeted therapy drugs are medications that target specific types of cancer and how the cells grow and reproduce. Depending on the type of cancer, these drugs may interfere with the proteins or enzymes and signals the cells send to grow and spread. They are notably helpful for cancers that don’t respond to chemotherapy, such as chordomas and other bone cancers. Surgery Hip cancer is often treated with surgery, which is the primary treatment for most bone cancers. With surgery, an excision is made to remove the tumor and some of the surrounding tissue. This wide excision makes sure any cancer cells that may have spread to surrounding tissue are removed so they do not spread further into healthy tissue. If not all cancerous cells are removed with surgery, radiation therapy may be used. Most of the time, the limb can be spared with the same survival rates as amputation surgery. Limb sparing surgery can result in further complications with difficult recovery but is often preferred over amputation. Your healthcare provider can help you decide which procedure is best for you. Radiation External beam radiation therapy—used to treat hip cancer in the bone—uses high-energy particles to kill cancer cells. It is not often used to treat bone cancer unless surgery cannot remove all of cancer. If surgery fails to remove all cancerous cells in surrounding tissue, external radiation may target it. Summary Hip pain has many causes besides cancer. Cancer of the hip can be a bone cancer, metastatic cancer (spread to the hip from somewhere else), or leukemia (a bone-marrow cancer). Symptoms of hip cancer include pain, swelling, fever, swollen lymph nodes, night sweats, and generally feeling sick. To diagnose hip cancer, your provider will give you an examination and get scans to see inside the joint. Treatment depends on the type of cancer. It may include medication, surgery, and/or radiation. A Word From Verywell Hip pain can be very concerning and understandably cause anxiety. While not all hip pain is caused by cancer, it is worth discussing your worries with your healthcare provider, who can help you determine whether further testing should be done. If you are diagnosed with hip cancer, know that there are several treatment options, and new therapies are being discovered all the time. 5 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Plante M, Wallace R, Busconi BD. Clinical diagnosis of hip pain. Clin Sports Med. 2011;30(2):225-38. doi:10.1016/j.csm.2010.12.003 American Cancer Society. Signs and symptoms of bone cancer. American Cancer Society. Tests for bone cancer. University of Pennsylvania Medical School: PennMedicine. Hip pain. American Cancer Society. Targeted therapy for bone cancer. By Rachel Macpherson Rachel MacPherson is a health writer, certified personal trainer, and exercise nutrition coach based in Montreal. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Medical Expert Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? 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