Bone cancer is a malignant tumour that arises from the cells that make up the bones of the body.
WHAT IS BONE CANCER?
- Primary bone cancer. Primary bone tumours are tumours that arise in the bone tissue itself, and they may be benign or malignant (bone cancer).
- Benign (non-cancerous) tumours in the bones are more common than bone cancers. Some types of bone cancer occur primarily in children, while others affect mostly adults
Bone cancer can affect any bone, but most cases develop in the long bones of the legs or upper arms. You may not spot any symptoms of a bone tumor, regardless of whether it’s cancer or not. Your doctor may discover it when they take a X-ray of another issue, for example, an injury.
The main symptoms include:
persistent bone pain that gets worse over time
persistent or unusual swelling and redness (inflammation) over a bone, which can make movement difficult if the affected bone is near a joint
a noticeable lump over a bone
As with other cancers, there is no clear definitive cause for bone cancer. However, researchers have identified several factors that increase the risk of developing these tumours. Therefore, you’re more at risk of developing it if you:
- have had previous exposure to radiation during radiotherapy or with certain anti-cancer drugs.
- have a condition known as Paget’s disease of the bone
- have rare genetic conditions such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Rothmund-Thomson syndrome and Retinoblastoma.
Signs
Bone cancer can affect any bone, but most cases develop in the long bones of the legs or upper arms. You may not spot any symptoms of a bone tumor, regardless of whether it’s cancer or not. Your doctor may discover it when they take a X-ray of another issue, for example, an injury.
Symptoms
The main symptoms include:
persistent bone pain that gets worse over time
persistent or unusual swelling and redness (inflammation) over a bone, which can make movement difficult if the affected bone is near a joint
a noticeable lump over a bone
Cause
As with other cancers, there is no clear definitive cause for bone cancer. However, researchers have identified several factors that increase the risk of developing these tumours. Therefore, you’re more at risk of developing it if you:
have had previous exposure to radiation during radiotherapy or with certain anti-cancer drugs.
have a condition known as Paget’s disease of the bone
have rare genetic conditions such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Rothmund-Thomson syndrome and Retinoblastoma.
Diagnosis
X-ray
that highlights the abnormal part of the bone on its location, size, and shape of bone tumour.
Positron emission tomography (PET) scan
In which a small amount of radioactive glucose (sugar) is injected into a vein and it usually goes through a CT scanner to pick up cancer cells that often take up more glucose than normal cells and could therefore, be a powerful scan to find the cancer cells in the body.
Computed tomography (CT) scan
Is a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body, taken from different angles created by a computer linked to an x-ray machine.
Biopsy
Removal of part of the suspected tissue of a bone tumour and examined by a qualified pathologist to determine the nature of the tissue cells.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan
Which uses a powerful magnet linked to a computer to create detailed pictures of the specific parts of the body without radiation.
Treatment
Treatment for bone cancer depends on the type of bone cancer you have and how far it has spread. Most people have a combination of:
Chemotherapy
to treat certain bone cancers, such as Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma.
Type of chemo drugs:
- Antitumor antibiotic is an anticancer drug that is capable of slowing down or stop the growth of cancer cells.
- Alkylating agent is a type of chemo drug that is capable of damaging the DNA of a cancer cell to ensure that the cell doesn’t make more copies of them.
- Antimetabolites is a chemo drug that is capable of interfering with more than one enzyme that’s necessary for the growth of DNA inside the cancer cell.
- Corticosteroids is man-made steroids used to help reduce the side effects of chemotherapy.
Surgery
To remove the section of cancerous bone.
Amputation
Is the procedure where removal of body parts as the cancer has grown into the major nerves and blood vessels around your bone tumour.
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy delivery systems help our radiation oncologists to target difficult-to-reach bone tumours.
Halcyon Radiotherapy System
Halcyon Radiotherapy System at Beacon Hospital enables:
- Fast and precise X-ray dose delivered to each tumour with high accuracy over a minimum number of treatment sessions
- Reduces unwanted radiation dose, thus, minimising side effects
At Beacon Hospital’s Cancer Centre, treatment may comprise a number of healthcare professionals depending on the type of treatment. We adopt a multidisciplinary approach which includes a clinical oncologist, medical oncologist, radiologist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, cancer nurses, as well as other allied health professionals such as dietitian and physiotherapists.
TrueBeam 2.7 Radiosurgery/Radiotherapy System
TrueBeam 2.7 Radiosurgery/Radiotherapy System at Beacon Hospital offers:
- HyperArc™ High-Definition Radiotherapy and Radiosurgery
HyperArc™ high-definition Radiotherapy system represents a significant step forward for high quality Linac-based Radiosurgery, with an easy delivery of non-coplanar Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) treatments. HyperArc™ could irradiate multiple tumours at the same time without repositioning the patient, which provides better management of patient motions while saving time for the patient and the clinical team. HyperArc™ ensures the planners achieve extremely compact dose distributions consistently and efficiently while maintaining patient safety.
Bone Cancer Recovery
The outlook for bone cancer depends on factors such as your age, the type of bone cancer you have, how far cancer has spread (the stage), and how likely it is to spread further (the grade).
Generally, bone cancer is much easier to cure, especially for healthy people whose cancer hasn’t spread.
