and treatment methods
Bone cancer is a rare cancerous disease. It constitutes less than 1% of other cancers, and most commonly affects the pelvic region or the long bones of the arms and legs.
Bone cancer is also one of the most difficult types of cancer, which exposes a person to difficulty in carrying out daily activities.
And through this article, we will talk more about the symptoms of bone cancer, its most important causes and methods of treatment through Duxpert Health.
Bone cancer symptoms
Bone cancer causes some symptoms, which include
Severe pain in the bones is one of the first symptoms of bone cancer.
Swelling in the affected area.
Weakening of the bones, which leads to fracture, which is one of the most important symptoms of bone cancer.
Experiencing fatigue and exhaustion.
Significant weight loss.
Loss of ability to move and walk.
breathing difficulties.
Joint stiffness and swelling and severe pain when moving the affected joint, which exacerbates the symptoms of bone cancer.
Fractures as a result of weak bones.
Feeling of numbness and weakness in the movement of the limbs, which is one of the most common symptoms of bone cancer in people with bone cancer.
An increase in body temperature, feeling sick and vomiting, and anemia.
Feeling of a lump in the affected bone area.
Bone cancer causes
There is no clear cause of bone cancer, but there are several factors that can expose a person to bone cancer:
The presence of genetic and genetic factors that increase the risk of developing bone cancer.
Paget''s disease of bone is more common in older adults and increases the risk of bone cancer.
Radiation therapy for cancer and exposure to high doses of radiation increases the risk of developing bone cancer in the future.
types of bone cancer
There are several types of bone cancer, which we will learn about through the following lines:
Osteosarcoma is the most common type, especially in children and adolescents, and can arise anywhere in the skeleton. Ewing''s carcinoma of the bone is the most common type of cancer in adolescents and arises in the bones of the pelvis, thigh or leg. A sarcoid cartilage tumor that originates in the cartilage. This type appears between 30 and 60 year olds. Chondrosarcoma, which is located on the ends of the bones, usually appears in the pelvis, leg and shoulder, and the chance of developing it increases with age. Spindle cell carcinoma is most common in adults over 40 years of age. A rare type, chordoma, which arises in the cells of the skull or midface cells, can also be found in the spine.
How are bone cancer symptoms diagnosed?
The orthopedic doctor at Duxpert Health performs some tests that reveal the symptoms of bone cancer in order to develop an appropriate treatment program for each case. Diagnostic methods include:
Bone scan Using computed tomography to take clear pictures of the shape of the bones. Use a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan Perform a positron emission tomography (PET) scan Take an X-ray scan. A bone biopsy to detect bone cancer, where the doctor recommends a biopsy of the tumor for examination in the laboratory and detection of tumor cells. Nuclear imaging helps detect the extent of bone cancer spreading to the skeleton.
bone cancer stages
We will address the most important stages of bone cancer, starting from the occurrence of the disease to its development. The stages of bone cancer development consist of four stages, which are as follows:
Stage I bone cancer The size of the cancer at this stage is small and has not spread, and this stage is one of the most treatable stages. Stage II bone cancer The size of the cancer is similar in size to stage I, but it is more aggressive and dangerous compared to stage I. Stage III bone cancer The tumor originates in at least two different areas of the same bone, but has not yet spread to lymphocytes or other organs. Stage IV bone cancer is the most advanced stage of the disease in which tumors appear in several places in the bone, and it can spread to lymphocytes and also to cells of other organs.
Bone cancer treatment methods
Treatment of bone cancer depends on the severity, stage and severity of bone cancer symptoms. Some types of bone cancer respond to different treatment methods, and the orthopedic doctor at Duxpert Health helps guide the most appropriate treatment for the type and stage of the cancer. Bone cancer treatment methods depend on surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, and some depend on surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. together.
Surgical treatment
Surgical treatment aims to completely remove the cancerous tumor, and in most cases, part of the healthy tissue around it is removed.
There are other cases that may require surgery to remove all or part of a limb (limb amputation) as a result of the development of the condition.
drug therapy
Where the patient is given some medications, in order to reduce the spread of cancer cells and alleviate the symptoms of bone cancer.
radiotherapy
Radiation therapy is used to kill cancer cells. It uses high beams of energy, such as X-rays.
It is also used in some cases before surgery in order to reduce the size of the tumor, and to facilitate the removal of the tumor to reduce the complications of surgery.
Radiation therapy is also used in cases of bone tumors that cannot be removed through surgery.
Radiation therapy is used after surgery to kill any remaining cancer cells.
Targeted therapy for bone cancer
Where targeted therapy depends on targeting cancer cells that are found in the bones, with fewer complications on other normal cells in the body, unlike other treatments such as: chemical that does not distinguish cancer cells from others and destroys normal cells.
These targeted drugs include: denosumab, interferon, and imatinib.
Chemotherapy
Here, this type of treatment is used, consisting of powerful anti-cancer drugs, injected through a vein to kill cancer cells. This type of treatment is used in some forms of bone cancer, but not in all cases. This type of treatment isn''t effective in chondrosarcoma, but it''s effective in osteosarcoma and Ewing''s sarcoma.
