Bone tumours, despite being relatively rare, could significantly affect a person’s quality of life if not pre-emptively diagnosed and treated at an earlier stage. Although one can empower themselves by understanding its types, causes and treatment options to be better equipped to deal with it. This blog will detail out the essential and key aspects of bone tumours to assist you in grasping this complicated yet crucial topic. Let’s dive in

What is Bone Tumor?

A bone tumour is an abnormal and uncontrollable growth of cells in the bone. These are widely divided into two types of tumours, benign and malignant. Bone tumours can impact individuals of all ages but some types are more predominant in specific age groups. For example:

Types of Bone Tumor

• Benign Bone Tumor: These types of tumours are also referred to as non-cancerous tumours and typically do not pose any life-threatening risk. They also do not spread across towards other tissues. Some of the common types include:
  • Osteochondroma: A cartilage-capped bony growth which occurs in adolescents and children
  • Enchondroma: A cartilage tumour that develops in the bone’s medullary cavity. This is found in hands and feet.
  • Giant Cell Tumor: This type is found near joints and can be aggressive but is found to be non-cancerous more often than not.

• Malignant Bone Tumor: These are referred to as relatively serious cancer tumours. Some common types include:
  • Osteosarcoma: It is one of the most common kinds of bone cancer which often affects bone in the arm and legs area.
  • Chondrosarcoma: This type of cancer begins in cartilage cells and is mainly seen in adults. 
  • Ewing’s Sarcoma: Mainly kids and teenagers get impacted with this type of cancer, it affects the chest wall, pelvis and limbs.

Causes and Risk Factors

The main cause of the bone cancer isn’t fully known but doctors have narrowed the causes and risk factors to:

• Genetic mark-up and predisposition: There are various genetic conditions such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome that increases the risk of none tumours.
• Radiation exposure: This has been widely recorded observation by doctors that high doses of radiation therapy, specially during childhood can increase the risk of developing bone cancer later in life.
• Bone injuries: Despite being rare, chronic bone injuries have been linked to bone tumour formations.
• Paget’s disease: Often observed in adults, Paget’s disease can at times lead to bone tumours.

Stages of Bone Tumours 

Staging helps in determining the tumour’s extent and severity thus guiding the treatment path and decisions. The stages of bone tumours are as follows: 

• Stage 1 “Localised Tumor”
  This type of tumour is confined to the bone and has not spread through the other tissues. It is fairly low-grade and relatively less aggressive.
• Stage 2 “Advanced Localised Tumor”
  The tumour remains in the bone but manifests a higher aggressiveness level. It is typically classified as high-grade.
• Stage 3 “Metastatic Tumor”
  In this stage, the cancer has spread to the other key parts of the body like lungs and other bones.

Symptoms to Watch Out for 

Bone tumours can manifest itself in different ways. But it depends on its type and location. Some of the common symptoms include: 

• Reduced mobility and stiffness in the joints of the body
• Weak and brittle bones which lead to factures
• Consistent bone pain that often worsens at night
• Limited range of motion
• Swelling and a palpable lump in the affected area

Diagnosis of the Bone Tumours 

To diagnose the presence of bone tumours, an accurate diagnosis is very much required. With an expert consultation, a doctor can plan a diagnostic process which may include: 

• Physical Examination: A careful and thorough observation of the affected are where pain persists and the area that has swelling and other abnormalities.
• Imaging Tests: These tests include X-rays for initial bone structure review. MRI & CT Scan for detailed outlook of images to assess the size and extent of the tumours. Additionally, bone scans to identify abnormal bone activities.
• Biopsy: A sample of the tumour is extracted to determine its benign or malignant nature and its stage.

Treatment Options

 The treatment of Bone Tumor depends on stage, type and location of the bone tumours, some of the common approaches are: 

• Surgery: It is the primary treatment for most kinds of bone tumour for surgical removal. For malignant cases, this may involve limb-sparing surgery or in extreme cases, amputation.
• Chemotherapy: It is often employed for aggressive tumours
• Radiation therapy: This treatment is employed particularly for tumours that cannot be fully removed surgically.

In conclusion, navigating through bone cancer is challenging both emotionally and physically but with advanced tools and technology along with expert care of seasoned specialists, one can turn the tide and win the battles. It is rather important for patients and their family to communication openly so that they can be provided with best possible medical care. If you or your loved one is going through something similar, you can explore the top-notch cancer care at Paras Health under the guidance of best oncologists. In case you need to talk to our health experts, please reach us at 08035358735.