[P730]Prognosis For Bone Cancer

INTRODUCTION: Real bone cancer (aka primary bone cancer) occurs in over 2,000 americans each year. Cancer that begins in the bone - primary bone cancer - is rare. Early diagnosis and treatment of this malignancy increases the chance of survival. Children and young people are more apt than adults to develop cancer of the bones. In the past, amputation was normal for bone cancer in an arm or leg.

CAUSE: Most of the time, when people have cancer in their bones, it is caused by cancer that has spread from elsewhere in the body to the bones rather than actual cancer of bone cells.

TYPES: There are at least 100 forms of cancer, and each type is named for the organ or tissue in which it originated. Certain forms of cancers are particularly likely to metastasize (spread) to the bones. It is important to noticed that when these other kinds of cancer spread to the bone, they are still named for the tissue or organ where they originated and are not termed "bone" cancer.

Many different forms of cancer are able to metastasize to the bones. The most common forms of malignancies that spread to the bones are lung, breast, prostate, thyroid, and kidney.

There are several forms of bone sarcoma, depending upon the type of bone tissue where the tumor began. The most common forms of primary bone cancer are osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, and chondrosarcoma. Other, less frequent types include fibrosarcoma, malignant giant cell tumor, as well as chordoma.

SYMPTOMS: The symptoms of bone malignancy tend to happen slowly and depend on the kind, location, and size of the tumor. Pain is the most frequent sign of bone cancer and doctors often use radiation therapy to shrink tumors to reduce the pressure, pain or other symptoms they may produce.

TREATMENT: Treatment depends on the type of bone cancer, as well as its location, size and stage. Treatment may involve chemotherapy with multiple drugs as well as radiation therapy and surgery to remove the primary tumor.

Treating it after it has spread to the bones (metastatic cancer) depends on the kind of cancer (the tissue where it began) and the extent of the spread. As with other forms, treatment is based on the size, type, location and stage of the cancer, including whether it has spread to the lungs or other organs of your body, and your basic health.

Your doctor may suggest using radiation therapy at different times during your cancer treatment and for different reasons, such as before surgery to shrink a cancerous tumor or after surgery to stop the growth of any remaining cancer cells.

A well-coordinated group of doctors - including surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, plus physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists who have knowledge about treating sarcomas - is absolutely necessary for increasing the chance you'll be able to have limb-sparing treatment. In some instances, chemotherapy may be the only treatment that's needed. More often, doctors use it along with other treatments, such as surgery or radiation, for improve results.

CONCLUSION: In contrast to cancers which have spread to the bone, true bone cancers are tumors that arise from the tissues of the bones. These cancers, called primary bone cancers, are quite rare in comparison to cancers that have spread to the bones.

Pain is the most frequent symptom of bone malignancy, but sometimes a lump on the bone can be felt through the skin. It is very rare to have a true bone cancer, one that arises from cells that make up the bone.

The treatment and prognosis for the disease depends upon many factors including the kind and extent of the cancer, the age of the patient and overall degree of health . It may be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of all of these.