You can find out more about the causes, symptoms and treatment options for bone tumors here! You will also find selected specialist lists for bone tumors here.
You can find out more about the causes, symptoms and treatment options for bone tumors here! You will also find selected specialist lists for bone tumors here.
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Brief overview:
- What is a bone tumor? If a patient suffers from a tissue neoplasm in the skeletal system, this is called a bone tumor.
- Differentiation: A distinction is made between benign and malignant tumors, as well as primary and secondary bone neoplasms. Primary = origin in bone tissue, secondary = metastases from other tumors.
- Forms: Depending on the area or tissue affected and the type of tumor, these are subdivided into osteochondromas, osteomas, osteosarcomas, osteoid osteomas, osteoblastomas, bone cysts and others.
- Causes: A familial predisposition is assumed. Ionizing radiation can also promote the formation of a bone tumour.
- Indication for treatment: Malignant tumors must be removed as quickly as possible. Symptoms such as pain, restricted mobility, sensory or motor disorders, a tendency to bone fractures and deformities due to the tumor must also be treated.
Article overview
What is a bone tumor?
A bone tumor (ICD code: D48) is a new formation of bone tissue. Various criteria are used to differentiate between tumors:
- benign tumors
- malignant tumors
- primary bone neoplasms
- secondary bone neoplasms
Malignant bone tumors such as sarcoma tend to metastasize, i.e. spread throughout the body. Benign tumors such as osteomas do not metastasize and tend to grow slowly. However, like malignant bone tumors, they can cause symptoms by displacing the surrounding structures. Only malignant bone tumors are referred to as bone cancer .
Alexandr Mitiuc / Fotolia
While primary tumors originate directly from bone tissue, secondary tumors are the metastases of other cancerous tumors. Bone tissue tumors are designated according to their exact origin:
- Osseous tumors arise in the bone and originate from the osteoclasts and osteoblasts, the most important cells of the bone.
- Cartilaginous tumors such as osteochondroma or chondrosarcoma, on the other hand, arise from cartilage tissue.
- If a tumor originates from connective tissue, it is referred to as a connective tissue tumor or bone fibroma.
Different types of bone tumors
The most common benign bone tumor is osteochondroma, also known as ecchondroma or cartilaginous exostosis. The tumor originates in the cartilaginous bone areas close to the joint and grows in childhood. As soon as bone growth is complete, the growth of the osteochondroma also stagnates. Complaints, i.e. noticeable symptoms, rarely occur with this bone tumor.
Osteomas, which most frequently develop in the area of the skull, are benign tumors that grow very slowly without metastasizing. They usually do not cause any symptoms. Enostomas, which are typically very small and grow from so-called cortical bone tissue, cause hardly any symptoms, just like osteomas. They are usually discovered by chance as an incidental finding during X-ray diagnostics.
Around 14 percent of all bone tumors are osteoid osteomas. These are mainly found in the bones of the thigh and lower leg and usually develop by the age of 20. The main symptom is local pain, which occurs particularly at night.
Osteoblastomas are very similar in structure to osteoid osteomas, but are larger. It mainly occurs between the ages of 10 and 20 on the long tubular bones and the spine.
© freshidea/ Fotolia
The aneurysmal bone cyst also mainly affects patients under the age of 20. The rapidly growing cyst leads to pain in the area of the affected bone. Aneurysmal bone cysts are particularly common in the femur and tibia and in the spine.
Malignant bone tumors, or bone cancer, include osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma. In contrast to benign tumors, benign bone tumors contain degenerated cells. Due to the changes in the genetic material of the cells, the body's own protective mechanisms are no longer effective and the degenerated cells can multiply unhindered. Unlike benign tumors, malignant bone tumors grow invasively and aggressively and often form metastases.
What are the causes of bone tumors?
It has not yet been possible to conclusively clarify why a bone tumor develops. As both benign and malignant tumors of the bone show a familial clustering, researchers assume a genetic component. Ionizing radiation is also considered to be a risk factor. After the reactor accident in Chernobyl in Ukraine in the 1980s, bone tumors occurred more frequently.
© wavebreak3 / Fotolia
When do bone tumors need to be treated?
Whether and which therapy is used to treat bone tumors depends on three factors:
- Thetype of tumor,
- its extent,
- thestage of the tumor disease.
Malignant bone tumors must be removed as quickly as possible so that they do not metastasize. In the case of benign tumors, doctors usually recommend waiting to see how the tumors develop. Tumors that grow very slowly and cause no or very few symptoms are generally not treated.
(Surgical) treatment is always necessary if:
- pain occurs,
- mobility is restricted,
- the tumor presses on nerves and thus leads to sensory or motor disorders,
- the bones are prone to fractures ,
- the affected bones are deformed by the tumor.