Bone Cancer - Medtick
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Bone Cancer

What is it?

A rare type of cancer that starts in the bones.

There are several types:

Osteosarcoma (common)

  • When there is overactivity of the bone cells called Osteoblasts (which helps in bone formation and shape) and occurs most often in the arms, legs, and pelvis.

Chondrosarcoma (common)

  • Starts in cartilage of the bones and mainly affects the hips,  thighbone, pelvis, legs, and arms.
  • Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma – aggressive form of cancer mainly found in spine, ribs or jaws, the remaining cases occur in areas of the body other than bone (that is, occurring in soft tissues like muscle and fat).

Ewing sarcoma (common)

  • Cancer growth (activation of the EWS gene found on chromosome 22) in any bone or soft tissue in the body, but it commonly affects long bones such as arms and/or legs (hence tall height) or flat bones such as the pelvis or chest wall and/or spine.
  • Normally occurs in ages of 10-20 years old
  • Can be mistaken for growing pains and/or sports injuries.

Chordoma (common)

  • Cancer growths usually seen in the spine and base of the skull

Fibrosarcoma chordoma

  • Cancer growth in soft tissue, but can start in the jaw, arms, or legs.

Giant cell bone tumors

  • Cancer growths can affect the legs, especially near the knee.

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma

  • Cancer growth in soft tissue, but can occur in bones, particularly the arms and legs

Cause

  • Unknown
  • From other cancers which have spread  (secondary bone cancer)- Stage 4 cancer
  • Carney complex (osteochondromyxoma, cancer of bones of arms and legs)
  • Exposed to radioactive materials like radium and strontium (these materials build up in your bones)
  • Bone marrow transplant
  • Radiotherapy
  • Paget’s disease
  • Retinoblastoma
  • Umbilical hernia (appears as a painless lump in or near the belly button)

Syndromes

  • Dubowitz syndrome (narrow or triangle-shaped face with a high or sloping forehead, eczema, vision problems)
  • Maffucci syndrome
  • Multiple exostoses syndrome (sometimes called multiple osteochondromas syndrome)- (this condition increase chance of Chondrosarcoma cancer):
    • Inherited condition that causes many bumps on a person’s bones, made mostly of cartilage.
    • Exostoses can be painful and lead to bone deformities and/or fractures.
      • The disorder is genetic (caused by a mutation in any one of the 3 genes EXT1, EXT2, or EXT3)
  • Li-Fraumeni syndrome – rare disorder that greatly increases the risk of developing several types of cancer, particularly in children and young adults)
  • Rothmund-Thomson syndrome
  • Schwartz-Jampel syndrome – abnormalities of the skeletal muscles.

Symptoms

  • High temperature greater than 38°C (100°F) or over and/or chills and sweats longer than 72 hours?
  • Night Sweats?
  • Inflamed (hot, red and swollen) joints, tenderness and warmth to the touch?
  • Unexplained weight loss?
  • Dull ache/sore bone pain ,come and going ache in bones?
  • Unknown lumps and swellings?
  • Bone deformity?
  • Bone and joint movement problems?
  • Brittle, soft weak bones, dental problems and/or prone to fractures or curved/bone legs and/or curved spine?
  • Joint pain and stiffness?

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

This condition has been associated with:

This condition may show similar symptoms to:

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Bone Cancer in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).

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