Symptoms, Types And Reasons Bone Cancer
A bone cancer is the result of an abnormal growth of cells within the bone of the human body that may be benign or cancerous (malignant) like other most other types of cancers. According to American Cancer Society the survival rate for bone cancer is about 70 percent. Different types of bone cancers have different survival rates and different symptoms which will be discussed later.
Mostly there is no specific cause and reason for bone Cancer however scientist only know that this type of Cancer will often arise and start in areas of rapid growth of Bones. This is however believed by the Cancer specialists that there are some risk factors to bone Cancer and these risk factors include Gene Mutations which may come due to inheritance, Radiation and Trauma.
Types Of Bone Cancer
There are many types of bone tumors and cancers and everybody specially those who are at higher risks must keep an eye on bone Cancer symptoms for early detection. Most common bone Tumor is Osteosarcoma that occurs between the ages 10 and 20. Mostly Osteosarcoma bone cancer occur in lower thigh ,shin bone and the upper arms. Sometimes benign bone tumors also occurs in bones but usually they are self-healing and will go away on their own and do not require treatment but still careful monitoring on the symptoms need to be taken as some times a benign tumor can change into a cancerous tumor . Therefore periodically monitoring in benign bone tumors by x-rays is still necessary. The causes of Cancer in the bone are usually unknown but the heredity factor plays an important role.
Cancers that develop in the bones of a person are referred to as primary bone tumors while Cancers which initiated in some other place in the body but spread to the bones are referred to as secondary or metastatic bone cancer and are different than primary bone tumors in terms of treatment, symptoms and metastatic bone Cancer or tumor is completely differently from primary bone tumors. The type of the tumor will be classified by the original organ the tumor started for example if a Cancer has started in the kidney and then metastasized in the bones it will still be called kidney cancer. As mentioned above there are some more types of bone tumors and each of them have different survival rates. Malignant or (Cancerous) bone tumors include:
Chondrosarcoma Bone Cancer
Chondrosarcoma type of bone cancer usually occurs in older adults. The 5 year survival rate of this bone cancer type is usually around 80 percent.
Ewing’s sarcoma Bone Cancer
Ewing’s sarcoma bone cancer usually occurs in the pelvis , thighs and shin of the human body
Fibrosarcoma Bone Cancer
Fibrosarcoma cancer will usually occur at the connective tissue at the end of the bones and then this cancer type start to spread to other parts of the body. This cancer is equally fatal for both children and adults and early detection is the single most important factor that will determine the rate of survival.
Although it is very difficult to diagnose cancer at early stages of disease but every type of cancer has some symptoms which should be kept in mind to start the treatment as early as possible for a better survival rate.
Bone Cancer Symptoms
Bone fracture occurs usually due to the weakness that develop in bones caused by Cancer. A person with bone cancer will break his bones easily from slight injury which means the bones are weak which can although be a symptom of other diseases but it may well be a symptom of bone cancer too. Other symptoms can be pain in the bones which become worse with time and specially worsen at night. Occasionally a mass and swelling can be felt at the tumor site. Every patient will show slightly different symptoms so it is very difficult to tell for sure unless tests are done. However some benign tumors have no symptoms.
Bone Cancer Signs and Tests
Usually Bone biopsy is done first to take a small sample to check if it’s a Bone Cancer or not. A bone scan is another test which can give some hints if the cancer is present in the bones or no. MRI of the bone and surrounding tissues is also done to check the spread of cancer and X-ray might also be needed to detect and diagnose bone Cancer presence. There are some other blood tests like Alkaline phosphate isoenzyme and Blood Calcium level test to check the levels of calcium in bones. Other test that can be done are Parathyroid hormones test and Blood phosphorus level test.
Treatment For Bone Cancer
Benign bone tumors usually may not need treatment but these tumor must be under observation of the doctor to check if the bone tumor is growing or shrinking in size. Surgical removal of the benign tumor some time becomes the only solution to the problem. Treatment for malignant bone tumors which have their origins from some other part of the body but have now spread to the bone depends on the primary tissue or other organ involved is however quite complex and medicine for primary Cancer is used to treat the patient. The survival rate in case of Metastatic Bone Cancer also depends on the primary type of tumor or the organ the cancer originated from. Radiation therapy option can be used sometime if severe pain in Bone Cancer patient is not going. Tumors which start in the bone are usually rare and bone cancer treatment is usually available in Cancer enters. After taking sample from bone through biopsy a regime which consists of a combination of chemotherapy and sometimes surgery is used to deal with the problem. Radiation therapy may be needed before or after surgery of the site where the surgery for bone cancer was done.
Bone Cancer Tumors Problems
Since bone Cancer can occur in any body regardless of age so care must be taken and careful monitoring must be done in case you feel any thing happening with you body. Pain, Reduced function of the bone which further depends on the size and spread of tumor, Sometimes one has to face side effects of chemotherapy, also there is a danger of the cancer to other nearby tissues, which is again dangerous and the cancer can grow to a point where treatment is not an option.