Bone And Soft Tissue Cancer
Bone tumors are one of the well-known tumors seen in children and mostly teenagers. It presents as pain or swelling, and When neglected in the earlier stages, and presents with a fracture. The initial evaluation normally consists of X-Rays, MRI, CT scan of chest, and biopsy. These investigations help us to identify the type and stage of the tumor.
The treatment of bone tumors is especially challenging due to the emphasis on saving both the limb and life. It becomes especially important as the patients are very young and conserving the function of the limb without compromising survival becomes very important.
The Specialist management starts from the stage of biopsy and it is vital that biopsy is done by the same surgeon who will go on to do the definitive surgery.
The limb salvage treatment requires a multimodality approach and normally starts with chemotherapy. After the tumor is downsized, surgery to remove the tumor and reconstruction with suitable prosthesis is planned. For growing children, expandable prostheses are used.
Treatment continues with enough rehabilitation until the patient gets back to his normal routine. Patients are recommended to be on regular follow up upon completion of treatment.
Signs and symptoms
The most familiar symptom of bone cancer is pain. The pain may initially be occasional and then become more frequent. Other symptoms of bone cancer include:
- Depending on the location of the tumor, a lump or mass may be felt.
- Numbness, tingling or weakness if the cancer affects the bones of the spine.
What are the Risk Factor for Bone Cancer.
A risk factor is anything that may raise your chance of having a disease. Risk factors for a certain type of cancer might include smoking, an unhealthy diet, family history, or multiple other things. The exact cause of someone’s cancer may not be known. But risk factors can make it more likely for a person to have cancer.
Things you should know about risk factors for cancer:
- Family history of genetic diseases. A small number of bone cancers, particularly osteosarcomas, seem to be linked to hereditary diseases.
- Paget’s disease of the bone. This disease frequently affects people who are 50 years of age and older. It induces abnormal bone tissue to form. This leads to brittle, thick bones, which are weak and more likely to break (fracture). It is not cancer, but it can lead to bone cancer (usually osteosarcoma) in a very small amount of cases.
- Having certain types of bone or cartilage tumors. Having a genetic disease that causes bumps of bony tissue or benign bone or cartilage tumors can increase your risk for bone cancer.
- Having a bone marrow transplant. In an extremely small number of cases, having a bone marrow transplant has been linked to raising osteosarcoma.
Treatment for Bone & Soft tissue Cancer.
How your Cancer is treated depends on what type you have, where in your body it is, how developed it is, and whether or not it has spread to other parts of your body.
- Surgery – The surgery takes the tumor out of your body. In most cases of osteosarcoma, the doctor can remove just the cancer cells, and you won’t need your arm or leg removed, too.
- Radiation – Radiation can shrink the tumor before surgery or kill cancer cells that are left after surgery. It could be the main treatment if surgery isn’t an option.
- Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy (Chemo) drugs can also be used with or instead of surgery. Chemo is often the first treatment when cancer has spread.
If you are facing bone and soft tissue cancer you can concern at oncoxpert. Our team of experts can review your condition, diagnose your tumor, and tailor a sarcoma treatment plan to meet your needs.