Bones are the framework needed to maintain body shape. Human bones are firm and durable. Some of them withstand pressure of almost 1.5 tons or more. Outside, the bone covers the periosteum (fibrous tissue).
Bone tissue consists of two types of cells:
- osteoblasts - cells responsible for the construction of bones;
- osteoclasts - cells that dissolve old bone tissue.
Tubular bones contain bone marrow or adipose tissue. In others, fat with hematopoietic cells, from which red blood cells, platelets and white blood cells are formed. The human bone marrow also contains plasma cells, fibroblasts and reticuloendothelial cells.
Bone sarcoma can form from each type of bone tissue cell.
Malignant tumors
Most often, malignant tumors in the bones are a consequence of the spread of a tumor from some other organ to the bone.
Bone sarcoma begins directly in the bone tissue. There are several types of neoplasms of bone tissue. Their name depends on the site of the bone or nearby affected tissues, as well as the type of cells that form the bone tumor.
Varieties
Bone sarcoma is of several types.
One of the most common malignant bone tumors is osteosarcoma, which is also called osteogenic sarcoma. The tumor grows from cells located in the bone tissue. In most cases, these bone tumors affect young people and children aged 10-30 years. But at the same time, in 10% of cases, osteosarcoma also affects older people after the age of 60. Osteosarcoma usually affects the bones of the limbs, upper and lower, as well as the pelvic bones.
Chondrosarcoma develops from cartilage cells and usually occurs in adults over 20 years of age.
Ewing's sarcoma occurs in children, adolescents and young people. Most often, the tumor affects the bones of the chest, pelvis and limbs.
There are still some types of bone sarcoma, but they are less common.
Bone sarcoma symptoms
The first symptoms of bone sarcoma are pain in the early stages of the disease. The resulting pain is not associated with physical activity or the patient’s body position. The pain can be aching, growing, constant, sometimes deep and severe. Often the pain intensifies at night, which provokes insomnia.
Causes sarcoma of the bone dysfunction of the affected limb. This happens at the next stage of development, when a sufficiently large area of the bone is affected by the sarcoma and functional cells are destroyed. The progression of the tumor causes fragility of the bones, they easily break even with a slight fall or bruise. Large tumors can be seen, but the skin is not changed in color and temperature.
In some cases, patients with sarcoma experience nausea and vomiting, vague abdominal pain, which is more common in children.
Management of symptoms and treatment of bone sarcoma
As you know, cancer is 100% impossible to cure, but medicine is developing, and modern methods of treatment with new drugs appear. To date, cancer treatment is carried out using the following set of measures:
- medical treatment;
- surgical intervention;
- chemical and radiation therapies.
Drug therapy leads to a decrease in the tumor growth rate and increases immunity.
With surgical intervention, a tumor is removed. New technologies allow you to remove individual fragments of bones, and later replace the removed part with prostheses.
Chemotherapy and radiation are used less often than surgery. They are auxiliary in nature for preparing the patient for and after the operation.
Modern oncology can detect bone sarcoma in the first stages, which makes it possible to maintain the patient's activity and performance.