Bone Cancer
Overview
Abnormally and uncontrolled growing cells formed a mass in bones, known as bone’s tumor.
Tumors of Bone:
According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeon, Bone’s Tumors are:
- Osteochondroma: This tumor is common but benign. It arises from the active ends of bones, like the upper arm bone (humerus) and the thigh bones (femur).
- Osteosarcoma: It happens mostly in children and adolescents and is the second most common tumor. This tumor can grow rapidly and spread to other parts of the body.
- Chondrosarcoma: This tumor develops in middle-aged and old people. It can develop in the hip, shoulder, and pelvic areas.
- Ewing’s tumors: This can affect children, adolescents, and adults. It can develop in the upper arm, leg bones, pelvis, ribs, and skull. It can also originate in the soft tissue of blood vessels and muscles.
- Multiple myeloma is the most common secondary cause of bone cancer. It grows in the bone marrow and affects older adults.
Risk Factors
The exact causes of bone cancer are unknown, but there are some risk factors that may cause bone tumors:
- Phage + disease of bone
- Previone radiotherapy
- Family history of bones and turas
Symptoms
- Pain-where the tumors are located
- Swelling of the affected joints
- Difficulty in walking if fractures happen due to Tumors
- Fever, weight loss, and anemia are other symptoms
Staging
Doctors can grade the tumors as:
- Stage IA: The tumors are below 8 cm and do not spread to the other organ.
- Stage IB: This tumor is above 8cm and has more than one separate tumor. It has not spread to any lymph nodes.
- Stage IIA: The tumor is high-grade and 8 cm or smaller. It has not spread to any lymph nodes or to other parts of the body (N0, M0).
- Stage IIB: The tumor is high-grade and larger than 8 cm. It has not spread to any lymph nodes or other parts of the body (N0, M0)
- Stage III: There are multiple high-grade (G2 or G3) tumors in the primary bone site (T3), but they have not spread to any lymph nodes or to other parts of the body (N0, M0).
- Stage IVA: The tumor is of any size or grade and has spread to the lung(s).
Diagnosis
- Blood Test: alkaline phosphates and lactate dehydrogenase increase in bone’s sarcoma and osteochondroma.
- Biopsy: The tissue sample is collected to identify whether cancer is present or not.
- X-ray: Create a picture and locate the tumors or bone structure of a human body.
- A bone scan helps identify the stage of bone sarcoma. It uses a radioactive tracer to look inside the bones.
- MRI: It produces a magnetic field to visualize detailed pictures of the body.
- PET Scan: It creates pictures of the organs and tissues of the body and evaluates cells, tissues, and disease progression.
Treatment
Surgery: A surgical oncologist and an orthopedic oncologist remove tumors of bones and their surrounding structures. If tumors are in the hand or in the legs, then it tries to avoid any harm to the legs or hands.
Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells, usually by keeping the cancer cells from growing, dividing them, and making more cells abnormally grow. Some common drugs are cisplatin. Doxorubicin, Ifsomide, Vincristine, Cyclophosphamide, and Etoposide.
Radiotherapy uses the high energy of X-rays to destroy cancerous cells. The most common radiation is external beam radiotherapy. For bone sarcoma, radiation therapy is most often used for a tumor that cannot be removed with surgery
Target Therapy: Targeted therapy is a treatment that targets cancer’s specific genes, proteins, or the tissue environment that contributes to cancer growth and survival
Immune therapy, also called biologic therapy, is designed to boost the body's natural defenses to fight cancer. It uses materials made either by the body or in a laboratory to improve, target, or restore immune system function.
