24809              PATHOLOGICAL FRACTURE OF LEFT FEMUR

The patient was a man aged 60 who was admitted after he had fractured his left femur without trauma. X-ray showed a pathological fracture. He admitted to P.R. blood loss and weight loss of 15 kg over a period of 15 months. On examination a hard mass was palpable in the liver. At autopsy a carcinoma of the rectum was found with secondary deposits in lung and liver.

The specimen shows that the substance of the upper end of the left femur is replaced with soft necrotic tumour deposit.