周 定 　 张琪琪　 胡 勇

       Bone tumors refer to benign and malignant tumors which originate from mesenchymal stem cells and occur in bone tissues and their accessory structures. The pathogenesis and etiology of bone tumors still remain unclear, and the diagnosis methods of bone tumors are stagnating now. X-ray, computed tomography ( CT ) and magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI ) are important in diagnosing and evaluating bone tumors, but they cannot detect the lesions until the bone destruction reaches a certain degree. Isotope bone scan can detect the microscopic lesions of bone, whereas it is too expensive and the specificity is poor, with high false positive rates. At present, the golden standard for the diagnosis of bone tumors is the histopathological examination of bone. However, it is difficult to achieve early diagnosis, and it is likely to miss the best treatment period. Every disease is inevitably accompanied by molecular biological changes in the body. Biochemical markers can promptly detect the property changes of bone tumor cells, including unlimited proliferation, apoptosis, active neoangiogenesis, infiltrative growth, metastatic growth and so on. Therefore, it is of great significance for the diagnosis of bone tumors to detect appropriate biochemical markers in the patients. The normal bone metabolism is maintained by the dynamic balance of bone resorption and bone formation. When bone tumors occur, the balance will be disturbed. The bone biochemical markers which reflect bone resorption and bone formation are sensitive indicators of early abnormal bone metabolism. Recently, a large number of studies have explored the significance of bone biochemical markers in patients with bone tumors. The functions of bone biochemical markers in patients with bone tumors mainly include making an early detection of microscopic tumor lesions to start early treatment ( diagnostic effects ), evaluating the effects ( therapeutic monitoring ), evaluating the prognosis and predicting the risk of relapse ( prognostic judgment ) and developing new drugs to block abnormal metabolic pathways of bone tumors to achieve the goal of treatment ( therapeutic effects ).