Bone cancer: causes, symptoms, to treatment

Definition

What is bone cancer?

Bone cancer is a malignant tumor that starts in the bone. Bones function as a means of movement and forming body structures, where muscles and flesh attach, and protect the soft organs in them.

Cancer cells can attack any part of the bone in your body, starting from the spine, coccyx, spine, ribs, hip bones, or bones in the legs (knees or knees), hands, skull (headbone), neck, jaw, even the cheeks.

Broadly speaking, this cancer is divided into two, namely primary (only appears and grows in bone tissue) and secondary (occurs due to spread of cancer in other areas).

In addition, cancer that attacks the bones is also divided into several types, including:

Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is a type of primary bone cancer that often occurs in children and adolescents, which is around the age of 9-10 years.

This type of cancer is more common in men than women. Generally, this type of cancer attacks the shins, thigh bones and arm bones of the hand.

Chondrosarcoma

Cancer cells grow on the cartilage that connects the bones or lines the bones. Chondrosarcoma usually occurs in the elderly, that is, over the age of 40. Only about 5% of cases occur in people aged less than 20 years.

Chondrosarcoma cancer cells can grow very aggressively or very slowly. The locations that are often affected by this cancer are in the bones of the hip, groin, upper leg and shoulder.

Ewing Sarcoma Family of Tumors (ESFT)

The ewing sacroma usually appears on bone, but rarely occurs in soft tissue (muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, or other supporting tissue). This condition usually forms in the pelvis, legs, or ribs, but it can form anywhere in the bones.

These tumors grow rapidly and spread to other parts of the body, including the lungs.

Ewing sacroma cancer occurs most often in children and adolescents who are under 19 years of age. Boys are more likely to develop this condition than girls. This condition is also more common in whites than in blacks or Asian people.

Fibrosarcoma

Fibrosarcoma is a type of cancer that generally develops in soft tissue, rather than bone. If the bone, cancer cells more often attack the legs, arms, hands and jaw. This type of cancer also usually occurs in adults and the elderly.

Chordoma

This type of cancer is very rare, and if it does occur, it is usually experienced by people who are over 30 years of age. Chordoma cancer cells are often found in the lower or upper spine.

How common is this condition?

This cancer is a type of cancer that is classified as rare. However, this type of cancer can affect anyone, be it children or the elderly.

Please consult a doctor if you are among those at risk for this disease or you want to find out how much your risk is for this disease.

Signs & symptoms

What are the signs and symptoms of bone cancer?

There are various symptoms that indicate the presence of cancer cells in the spine, spine, knee bones, legs or arms, coccyx, or other bones.

Some of them feel symptoms at an early stage, but there are also those who feel symptoms when the cancer has entered stage 2, 3, or 4.

Symptoms or symptoms of bone cancer in the knee, leg, spine, handbone, ribs, or spine that are commonly felt by adults include:

Pain

Pain is the most common sign of cancer of the spine or other bone. Initially, this pain appeared unconscious.

However, as the pain gets more intense, gets worse at night, or when you are active. As the cancer has progressed, the pain can be felt over time and get worse when you go through activities.

Swelling

Bone cancer that attacks the spine or other bones, can cause symptoms of swelling. If it occurs in the cervical spine, swelling can make it difficult to swallow and breathe.

Bone fracture

Bone fracture or fracture, initially occurs because cancer cells weaken the bone. Patients who experience these symptoms usually experience severe pain for several months.

Tingling, numbness and other symptoms of cancer

Tumors that form around the bone can press on the nerves, causing a tingling feeling, weakness, or numbness. Other symptoms of cancer that accompany the body are constantly tired and weight loss drastically for no apparent reason.

In children, this type of cancer causes symptoms that are not much different, namely pain and swelling of the affected bone. These symptoms can make the child limp, have difficulty doing normal activities. and prone to fractures.

Then, he will also tire more easily and lose weight without an obvious cause.

When to go to the doctor

If you feel the symptoms of cancer mentioned above, see a doctor immediately. Especially if symptoms persist, get worse at night, and don't get better with general medication.

Cause

What causes bone cancer?

The cause of cancer that attacks the spine, coccyx, leg bones, or other bones in the body, until now is not known with certainty. However, experts suspect that this disease occurs because of an error in DNA replication in bone cells.

When the DNA is formed incorrectly or abnormally, this results in bone cells developing uncontrollably and growing in large numbers.

The uncontrolled bone cells collect into a malignant tumor that can spread to other tissues.

Risk factors

What increases the risk of bone cancer?

Although the cause of this type of cancer is not known with certainty, there are various factors that can increase the risk of this disease, including:

• Genetic defect disease

A small number of osteosarcoma cases occur due to rare genetic syndromes that are passed down in families, such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome and hereditary retinoblastoma.

• Paget's bone disease

Paget's disease interferes with the normal body's recycling process, where new bone tissue slowly occupies the old bone tissue. This condition causes bones to become brittle and at risk of becoming cancerous.

• Excessive radiation exposure

Excessive doses of radiation can increase your risk of developing osteosarcoma.

Diagnosis & Treatment

The information described is not a substitute for medical advice. ALWAYS consult your doctor.

How do you diagnose bone cancer?

In order to make a diagnosis, the doctor will ask you to undergo various medical tests, such as:

• Physical test.The doctor will ask you what symptoms you feel, check for swelling that has occurred, and check your medical history and your family.
• Imaging test. This medical test is needed to confirm the presence of abnormal cells or tumors in the bones, as well as to help find the location and size of the tumor. These imaging tests include x-rays, bone scans, CT scans, PET scans, and MRIs.
• Biopsy test. Health tests are done by taking a small amount of tissue that is suspected of being cancer to be brought to the laboratory and viewed under a microscope. A biopsy can be done by means of incision surgery (a little tissue) and excision surgery (all of the tissue) or using a special needle to suck out the tissue.

What is the stage of bone cancer?

This cancer can form tumors. Over time the tumor can enlarge and cancer cells can spread. Therefore, this disease is categorized into several stages making it easier for doctors to determine the treatment.

The stage of cancer that attacks the bone is divided into:

• Stage 1: There is a tumor less than 8 cm in size.
• Stage 2: There is a tumor measuring more than 8 cm.
• Stage 3: There is more than one tumor in the same bone.
• Stage 4: More than one tumor of any size on the bone has or may not have invaded the lymph nodes. It has spread to other organs, such as the lungs, liver, or brain.

What is the treatment for bone cancer?

How to treat this cancer will depend on several things, starting from the type, stage, health condition, type of treatment, and how well the cancer cells respond to treatment.

Some treatments can be done alone or some must be combined with other treatments in order to get optimal results. Here are the cancer treatment options that doctors usually do:

Operation

This procedure aims to remove cancer cells from the body. That way, the cancer doesn't spread to other areas. Sometimes in severe cases, this treatment can end in amputation of the leg or hand.

After the amputation is performed, further surgery to reconstruct the new limb may be performed. This medical procedure is called a rotationalplasty.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy is done using high energy X-rays to kill cancer cells in the bones. This medication may be used in combination with a surgical procedure.

Although quite effective, radiotherapy can cause side effects such as hair loss, skin problems, body fatigue, and nausea and vomiting.

Chemotherapy

This chemotherapy treatment relies on drugs to cure this cancer. Chemotherapy is usually recommended for osteosarcoma and Eewing sarcoma.

Some chemotherapy drugs that are often used for cancer of the spine, leg bones, or other bone parts are:

• Doxorubicin (Adriamycin^®)
• Cisplatin
• Etoposide (VP-16)
• Ifosfamide (Ifex^®)
• Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan^®)
• Methotrexate
• Vincristine (Oncovin^®)

Generally doctors give 2 or 3 types of drugs used simultaneously. Side effects that commonly occur due to chemotherapy include hair loss, body fatigue, nausea and vomiting, and mouth sores.

Home remedies

What are some lifestyle changes or home remedies that can treat this condition?

In order to support the treatment and healing of cancer of the spine or other bone parts, be it stage 1 to 4, cancer sufferers must lead a healthy lifestyle.

This home treatment requires the patient to undergo a cancer diet, adequate rest, and adjustments to daily activities. Doctors, therapists, and nutritionists will help you to carry out this treatment.

Apart from doctor's treatment, there is no natural (traditional) medicine that has been proven effective in treating bone cancer. Therefore, consult further with your doctor about other supportive care.

Prevention

How do you prevent bone cancer?

Some types of cancer can be prevented, but this type of cancer is difficult to prevent. Even so, some scientists say that how to prevent cancer can be done by adopting a healthy lifestyle, such as maintaining an ideal body weight and quitting smoking.

Do regular consultations and health checks as a preventive measure for bone cancer for those of you who are at high risk of developing this cancer.