Currently, the incidence of cancer is constantly increasing. Bone cancer is not the most common pathology, the frequency of its development is less than one percent of all malignant neoplasms.
A bone tumor can be either primary (independent disease), or secondary, developing as a result of metastasis of tumors of a different nature and localization.
The etiology of cancerous tumors is not fully established. It is assumed that all cancers are polyetiologic. In epidemiological terms, bone cancer occurs exclusively sporadically, that is, almost uniformly throughout the year and almost the same number of times over different years. However, the sporadic nature of oncology of the skeletal system is characteristic only in the case when primary bone cancer develops.
Most often, these types of malignant neoplasms are found in young people in the age group of twenty to thirty years. Typical localization of the pathological process is legs, rarely there is cancer of the skull bones, cancer of the spine and other varieties.
Pain is not characteristic of an oncological disease such as bone cancer. Symptoms that manifest this pathology are most often not expressed. If the tumor is located near the joint, contracture develops (i.e. stiffness). When involved in the pathological process of the joint, pain increases. These pains do not stop using standard analgesic drugs. Subsequently, metastasis of the tumor process to other organs and tissues occurs. Depending on which organs the metastases penetrate, the clinic and the symptoms of the lesion of the corresponding organ join.
In connection with the erased symptoms of bone oncology in the initial stages, early diagnosis is somewhat difficult. For the purpose of diagnosis, the following manipulations are carried out: examination, palpation and x-ray examination. As an additional method, magnetic resonance imaging can be used. If cancer is suspected, a biopsy of the pathological site is performed to determine the tumor morphology.
The use of radioisotope treatments is ineffective in bone cancer. Due to the fact that bone cancer metastasizes in the early stages, the use of a course of preoperative chemotherapy in order to reduce the size of the tumor focus, as well as to suppress tumor activity in metastatic foci, has shown the greatest effectiveness. After surgery to remove cancerous tissue, a course of chemotherapy is also prescribed to reduce the number of relapses. The volume of the operation completely depends on the stage at which the cancer is detected, and how much tissue is involved in the pathological process.
The prognosis of the disease depends on how early the pathology is diagnosed. Mortality in bone cancer is low. However, most often patients lose one or another limb, which violates the ability to work and, often, the ability to self-care. Such patients need long-term rehabilitation measures: physical, psychological and social.
The highest frequency of deaths in bone cancer (about fifty to sixty percent) is due to metastasis, and death occurs due to impaired functions of certain organs.
Summarizing the above, it is worth noting that, despite the low incidence of bone cancer, this problem is very relevant. This is due to nonspecific and unexpressed symptoms, which complicates earlier diagnosis, as well as the tendency of bone cancer to early metastasis.