Ways to Treat Bone Cancer

Bone cancer is caused by a problem with the cells that make bone. More than 2,000 people are diagnosed in the United States each year with a bone tumor. Bone tumors occur most commonly in children and adolescents and are less common in older adults. Cancer involving the bone in older adults is most commonly the result of metastatic spread from another tumor. Diagnosing bone cancer involves a number of tests, including: X-rays and bone scans to show the exact location and size of the cancer (these are always done prior to biopsy), bone biopsy where a small sample of the cancer is removed from the bone and examined in the laboratory for the presence of malignant cells, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan similar to a CT scan but uses magnetism instead of x-rays to build three-dimensional pictures of your body. Osteosarcoma type of bone cancer that originates from the Osteoid tissue in the bone. This most common type of primary bone cancer mostly occurs in the children and the young adults. But occurrence cannot be eliminated among the adults too. The type of cancer constitutes about 35% of the primary bone cancers. It affects the long bones of the body, mostly the upper arms, upper legs. Primary bone cancer refers to cancers which start in the bone. These are different to secondary bone cancers which started in other parts of the body and later spread to the bonesThe cause of primary bone cancer is unknown, but hereditary factors, environmental factors, trauma, or excessive radiation therapy (to treat other types of cancer) may be involved. The second most common bone tumor is Chondrosarcoma and accounts for about 25% of all malignant bone tumors. These tumors arise from the gristle cells and can either be very aggressive or relatively slow-growing. Unlike many other bone tumors, chondrosarcoma is most common in individuals over 40 years old. It is somewhat more common in male people and can potentially spread to the lungs and lymph nodes. Chemotherapy is generally given after surgery to remove cancer cells that stay in the body after the main tumor is removed surgically. Sometimes chemotherapy is given before surgery to decrease size of the tumor before surgeons try to remove it. Biphosphonates are drugs that can be utilized to descrease bone pain and slow down bone injury in people who have cancer that has spread to their bones. People with multiple myeloma are particularly susceptible to infections in the urinary tract, lungs, and sinuses. Some people, who have had long course in the radiotherapy or high dosages in the same, are seen to be more susceptible to bone cancer. The risk is not yet clearly established and it is just seen as a minor one. Most of the people having radiotherapy do not have any type of effects regarding the bone cancer. Still, it remains a risk one needs to be wary of. There are 4 types of spindle cell sarcoma: undifferentiated sarcoma of bone, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, fibrosarcoma and leiomyosarcoma. Of these the undifferentiated sarcoma of bone does not have any special cell lineage and this undifferentiation makes it difficult to predict what type of cancer cells will originate from it.

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