Bone Cancer
- devbio
- November 24, 2022
Bone Cancer
About bones
There are 206 bones in the mature human skeletal system. Bones protect internal organs, enable humans to stand upright, and connect to muscles, allowing movement. Ligaments are bands of strong, fibrous tissue that link bones to other bones. Cartilage protects and covers the joints where bones meet. Bone marrow, the spongy, crimson substance that creates blood cells, fills the empty spaces in bones. The cortex is the bone’s hard, outer layer.
Bone consists of collagen, which is a soft, fibrous tissue, and calcium phosphate, a mineral that helps harden and strengthen the bone. There are 3 types of bone cells:
- • Osteoclasts , Cells that break down and remove old bone.
- • Osteoblasts , Cells that build new bone.
- • Osteocytes , Cells that carry nutrients to the bone.
About bone sarcoma
Cancer can start in any part of any bone. Cancer begins when healthy cells in the bone change and grow out of control, forming a mass called a tumor. A bone tumor can be cancerous or benign.
There are several forms of bone connective tissue cancers:
- • Chondrosarcoma. Chondrosarcoma is a kind of cartilage cancer. Adults are more likely to suffer from it.
- • Chordoma. This form of bone sarcoma usually begins in the spinal cord.
- • Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma. These are two of the most prevalent bone sarcomas. They are more common in children and young adults. Ewing sarcoma is unique in that it can develop in either bone or soft tissue. located in the throat
- • Pleomorphic sarcoma with no differentiation (UPS). UPS is a rare bone tumor that is closely linked to osteosarcoma (see above). Adults are more likely to have UPS of bone. The most typical location for UPS is on an arm or leg, particularly around the knee joint.
- • Fibrosarcoma. This kind of soft tissue sarcoma is also more frequent in adults, particularly in their forties and fifties. It usually starts in the thighbone.
- • Paget's disease of the bone sarcoma. Paget's disease of the bone is more common in elderly people. It is caused by bone tissue proliferation and commonly affects the skull. If Paget's illness progresses to cancer, the most common kind is osteosarcoma. This is, however, unusual.
Risk Factors
Although most malignancies have no established risk factors, the following may increase a person’s chance of getting bone sarcoma:
Genetics: Children with family retinoblastoma, a kind of eye cancer, are more likely to acquire osteosarcoma. People who have a family history of sarcoma, such as those with Li-Fraumeni syndrome, are at a higher risk of developing osteosarcoma.
Previous radiation therapy: People who have undergone radiation therapy for other diseases are more likely to develop bone sarcoma at the radiation therapy location. Radiation-related bone sarcomas can arise many years, even decades, after treatment, so it’s important to keep an eye out for any symptoms that appear in a region previously treated with radiation, even if you’re an adult who was treated as a kid.
Chemotherapy for a different cancer: Some cancer treatments, such as alkylating agents and anthracyclines, may raise the chance of getting a secondary cancer, most often osteosarcoma.
Benign tumors or other bone conditions : Osteosarcoma can develop from Paget’s disease of the bone. Other noncancerous bone conditions, such as fibrous dysplasia, have been linked to an increased risk of osteosarcoma.
Surgery
Bone sarcoma is uncommon, and research reveals that patients fare better if they are treated at a sarcoma-specific clinic. These are referred to as “sarcoma specialized centers.”
The following are some of the most popular treatments for primary bone sarcoma.
Treatment
During an operation, the tumor and some surrounding healthy tissue are removed. When a tumor is located in an arm or leg, procedures to preserve the arm or limb are performed whenever possible. This is also known as “limb salvaging” or “limb sparing.” Amputation, or the removal of the arm or limb containing the tumor, is occasionally required. This is determined by the size and/or location of the tumor.
Therapies using medication
Medication to eliminate cancer cells may be part of the therapy approach. Medication can be delivered through the circulation to cancer cells all throughout the body. Systemic treatment refers to the administration of a medicine in this manner. Medication can also be administered locally, which means that it is delivered directly to the malignancy or is retained in a certain portion of the body.
The types of medications used for bone sarcoma may include:
- Chemotherapy
- Targeted therapy
- Immunotherapy
Each of these types of therapies is discussed below in more detail.
Chemotherapy : Chemotherapy is the use of medications to eradicate cancer cells, often by preventing cancer cells from growing, dividing, and proliferating.
Chemotherapy is frequently used before surgery to treat fast-growing bone sarcomas. Preoperative chemotherapy, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, or induction chemotherapy are all terms for chemotherapy given before surgery. Chemotherapy prior to surgery may also improve the chances of cure and/or help patients live longer lives by destroying cancer cells that have spread from the initial tumor. The tumor’s response to treatment can be used to improve prognosis.
Immunotherapy : Immunotherapy boosts your immune system’s ability to target cancer cells, allowing it to fight cancer naturally.
Immunotherapy is not commonly recommended for the treatment of sarcomas, particularly bone sarcomas, since it has not been well evaluated. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are used in several recently approved immunotherapy therapies for different forms of cancer. These medications are given to the patient to suppress the body’s natural immunological response against malignancy.
Radiation therapy : The use of high-energy x-rays or other particles to eliminate cancer cells is known as radiation therapy.
Radiation treatment is most commonly used for bone sarcoma tumors that cannot be removed surgically. Radiation treatment can be used before or after surgery to reduce the tumor or to eradicate any leftover cancer cells. Radiation treatment allows for less invasive surgery, typically saving the arm or leg. Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is a form of radiation treatment that may be used to treat bone sarcomas that have progressed to the lungs.
Prevention
Different forms of cancer are caused by different circumstances. Researchers are still investigating what causes bone sarcoma and how to avoid it. There is currently no recognized strategy to avoid bone sarcoma.