Bone Cancer

Bone cancers are treatable. Be it early-stage or advanced-stage bone cancers, there are multiple treatment options available that not only manage the disease effectively but also help patients have a better quality of life after the treatment.

Today, we have more advanced and patient-centric treatment approaches, such as organ preservation surgeries that remove only the tumour while leaving the entire bone structure intact. These approaches support the overall wellbeing of the patients after the treatment.

Nevertheless, for any cancer to be treated the best, it has to be detected in the early stage. Therefore, no symptom should be ignored and any symptom that lasts for more than two weeks should be brought to the physician’s attention.

Any abnormal development from or in the bone, whether benign or malignant, is referred to as a bone tumour, and a malignant bone tumour is referred to as bone cancer.

Cancer can affect any bone in the body. Certain bone cancers, however, predominantly arise from specific bones. The bones around the knee are usually affected by osteosarcoma. The upper leg, pelvis, and other bones of the trunk are more commonly affected by Ewing’s sarcoma. Chondrosarcomas arise from the pelvic bones in most cases.

Metastatic bone cancers or secondary bone cancers may need a multimodal treatment approach. However, before planning the treatment for secondary bone cancers, various factors such as the type of bone cancer, the extent of metastasis, previous treatments, the goal of the treatment (cure or symptom relief) and other factors are considered.

Various treatment options available for secondary bone cancers include chemotherapy, radiation therapy and stem cell transplantation.

Cancers spread to bones largely through the vein system. Blood can flow from one vein to another. Once cancer cells enter the bloodstream, they can travel to any part of the body from head to toe. This is how cancers travel from organs to bones or from bone to bone. The spine has a wide network of veins, and therefore, its bones are more vulnerable to cancer formation.

Currently, there are no proven methods to prevent bone cancers. Nevertheless, early detection increases the chances of a successful treatment; thus, those with known risk factors should see their doctor on a frequent basis to review their personal risk of developing bone cancer.