This is an automatically translated article.
Bone cancer or bone malignancy is the most dangerous disease in bone and joint diseases. The disease is not uncommon, but the risk of metastasis is very high with about 3 to 4 times higher than other types of cancer. The disease is not only life-threatening but can also make the patient disabled or lose the function of the limbs, greatly affecting the patient's quality of life. Therefore, understanding and accurately identifying the disease makes the treatment process more effective and improves the patient's health status.
1. What is bone cancer and its susceptible sites?
Bone cancer or osteosarcoma usually occurs when a tumor or abnormal mass of tissue is formed in the bone. This type of cancer is linked to three types of cells: osteoblasts, chondrocytes, and connective cells of bone tissue. A bone tumor is considered malignant when it grows strongly and spreads to other parts of the body.
However, bone cancer will not include cancers that start elsewhere in the body and spread to the bones. These metastatic fields are usually named after the place where the cancer started.
Tumors can start in any bone in the body, but long bones like the tibia, femur, and humerus or flat bones like the pelvis and shoulder blades are usually the places. can detect signs of bone cancer.
2. Common types of bone cancer and its causes
Primary bone cancer is considered the most serious type of cancer. Melanoma forms directly in the bone or in the surrounding bone tissue such as cartilage. This disease is quite rare, accounting for only about 1% of other cancers. And the disease usually appears in adolescents and young people under the age of 30, but for those aged 60 to 70 years, the incidence accounts for about 10% of cancer cases. Bone tumors often appear in the bones of the arms, legs, or pelvis. Secondary bone cancers can cause spread or metastasis from other parts of the body to the bones. And secondary malignancies are more common than primary bone cancers. Secondary bone cancer includes the following types:
Multiple myeloma is the most common type, multiple myeloma occurs when cancer cells grow in the bone marrow and cause tumors in different bones . The disease usually occurs in the elderly. However, the disease can have a good prognosis. Osteosarcoma usually affects children and adolescents, but can occur in adults. Bone cancer tends to originate in the ends of the long bones in the arms and legs. In addition, osteosarcoma can often begin in the hip or shoulder and affect the hard tissue that supplies the outer layer of bone. Cartilage sarcoma in the pelvis, thigh area in the elderly. This type of cancer is primary in nature and involves bones and forms in the subchondral tissue - the hard link between bones. Ewing's sarcoma is a fairly rare type of bone cancer that starts in the soft tissues that surround the bone or is located directly in the bone. This disease is quite common in children and young adults. The long bones of the body such as the arms, legs, and pelvis are often affected. Although the exact cause of bone cancer is unknown, several factors may contribute to or increase the likelihood of abnormal tumors forming and growing in the bones. Risk factors may include, family history, people with Paget's disease or previous history of multiple cartilage tumors.
3. Signs of bone cancer
Symptoms of bone cancer are often detected at each stage of the disease. In the early stages, the symptoms of the disease are not clear, and are often ignored by the patient with signs such as pain in the limbs, pain in the bones, and weaker movement.
However, as the tumor grows and grows, these symptoms will change according to the patient's growth rate. Common signs of the disease at this time include:
Bone pain with initial signs of only mild pain and intermittent frequency, then the pain will gradually increase as well as often appear at a time. fixed point. Most patients often have pain at night, the feeling is quite vague and it is difficult to recognize the location of the pain in the bone. Swelling and lumps in the bones can be seen in the early stages of the disease. The growth of the tumor causes the bone tissue to protrude and show an irregular convex surface to the touch. Disorders of bone function. When the patient has bone cancer at a late stage, the tumor grows strongly, the bone function is hindered, causing muscle atrophy. Compressed when tumors overgrow. Pelvic tumors will put pressure on the bladder, rectum, intestines and cause difficulty urinating. Or myeloma compresses the spine causing paralysis, tumors growing in the cranial cavity and nasal cavity will put pressure on the brain and related problems with breathing. Bone deformity with tumor growth affects the skeletal system as well as malformations. The affected part of the bone can be very fragile or even a slight impact can cause the person to become paralyzed. As bone tumors grow, patients experience a wide range of symptoms, and pain remains the most common symptom. In addition, the patient will suffer from arthritis, osteoporosis, trauma...
4. The heritability of bone cancer and the danger of the disease
According to the results of leading researchers in the US, there are quite a few hereditary cancer conditions and bone cancer is not inherited directly, but can be indirectly through a certain disease syndrome . If someone in the family has bone cancer, the risk of the remaining members of the family is quite high compared to normal patients. It can be caused by a bone cancer caused by certain mutations in the gene.
Bone cancer is a very dangerous disease. Therefore, early detection of bone cancer is quite important for effective intervention and treatment measures.
Center for Orthopedic Trauma & Sports Medicine - Vinmec International General Hospital is a specialist in examining and treating injuries and conditions related to the musculoskeletal system and ligaments.
The center has expertise in surgery and treatment of diseases:
Partial or complete replacement of artificial bones and joints; Replacement of hip, knee, elbow; The first and only reversible shoulder joint replacement in Vietnam; Arthroscopic surgery to regenerate and repair damage to ligaments and meniscus; Bone cancer, bone and soft tissue tumors of motor organs; Intensive Rehabilitation in Sports Medicine; Mobility analytics to diagnose, monitor, and improve performance for athletes; diagnose and support patient recovery. The center is applying modern and cutting-edge technologies to treatment such as 3D imaging and 3D printing of bones and artificial joints, 3D-printed and personalized assistive technology, manufacturing technology. Creation and application of artificial bones and joints with new materials and precise surgical techniques by Robot.
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