Cancer can affect the spine and its components by a number of types of spinal tumors. Most tumors in the spine are metastatic—they spread from another part of the body into the spinal region and cause pain. If you have severe back pain, it is natural to wonder whether or not the pain might be a sign of spinal cancer.
Tumors in the spinal column may cause back pain from expansion of the bone or from weakening the bone, which in turn can result in spinal fractures, compression (pinching) of the nerves, or spinal instability.