Imaging, diagnosis, and staging of bone tumors: a primer.

By considering the radiographic appearance in combination with the lesion location and the patient's history, an informed differential diagnosis can be generated for a bone lesion. Primary musculoskeletal malignancies often display aggressive characteristics such as cortical breakthrough, bone destruction, periosteal reaction, and associated soft-tissue masses. On the other hand, benign lesions usually do not have these aggressive features. The matrix mineralization reflects the lesion's underlying pathology and can help to narrow the differential diagnosis.