Chondrosarcoma

Chondrosarcoma is the second most frequent primary malignant tumor of bone, representing approximately 25% of all primary osseous neoplasms. Chondrosarcomas are a group of tumors with highly diverse features and behavior patterns, ranging from slow-growing non-metastasizing lesions to highly aggressive metastasizing sarcomas.

Causes

The cause is unknown to doctors. Patients may have a history of enchondroma or osteochondroma.

Symptoms

· Pain, which is often present for months and typically dull in character and worse at night.

· Local swelling

· When the tumor occurs close to a joint, movement may be restricted.

· The average duration of symptoms before presentation is 2 years.

· The tumor may occasionally occur as a pathologic fracture.

· firm lump

· broken bone

· impeded normal range of motion

Treatment depends on the location of the disease and the aggressiveness of the tumors.Because chondrosarcomas are rare, they are treated at specialist hospitals with Sarcoma Centers.Surgery is the main form of treatment for chondrosarcoma. Musculoskeletal tumor specialists or orthopedic oncologists are usually chosen to treat chondrosarcoma, unless it is located in the skull, spine, or chest cavity, in which case, a neurosurgeon or thoracic surgeon experienced with sarcomas is chosen. Often, a limb-sparing operation can be performed, however in some cases amputation is unavoidable. Amputation of the arm, leg, jaw, or half of the pelvis (called a hemipelvectomy) may be necessary in some cases.

Medical Tests & Diagnosis

biopsy - a procedure in which tissue samples are removed (with a needle or during surgery) from the body for examination under a microscope; to determine if cancer or other abnormal cells are present.

Bone X-Ray: An x-ray test uses high energy electromagnetic radiation to penetrate the body & bones to create their image on a film. Dense tissues or structures appear white, the air black, and other structures in shades of gray

Computed tomography (CT) is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing. Digital geometry processing is used to generate a three-dimensional image of the inside of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around a single axis of rotation.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI):This is primarily a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structure and limited function of the body. MRI provides much greater contrast between the different soft tissues of the body than computed tomography (CT) does, making it especially useful in neurological (brain), musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and oncological (cancer) imaging. Unlike CT, MRI uses no ionizing radiation

Treatments

Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) is a type of local therapy. It affects cells only in the treated area. Radiation therapy is used alone for small tumors or for patients who cannot have surgery. It may be used before surgery to kill cancer cells and shrink the tumor. It also may be used after surgery to destroy cancer cells that may remain in the area.

There are two types of radiation therapy for Osteosarcoma

1. External-Beam Radiation Therapy: This is a common form of treatment used with bone cancer patients. It uses an external device called linear accelerator to generate high-energy rays that focuses on the targeted area. External beam radiation can be administrated before or after surgery.

2. Brachytherapy:This uses small radioactive pellets implanted into the affected area. This treatment can be administrated during surgery or after surgery . In both cases, when the treatment is completed, the catheters and radioactive seeds are removed.

Surgery: surgery is the primary treatment for bone cancer. Surgery is a medical procedure where the tumor and sometimes the surrounding bone tissue and muscles are removed. If the surgery is performed on the arm or leg bone, the surgeon tries to save the limb, or to replace the removed bone with bone tissue from other parts of the body or with an artificial prosthesis..

Computed tomography (CT): is a medical imaging method employing tomography created by computer processing. Digital geometry processing is used to generate a three-dimensional image of the inside of an object from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around a single axis of rotation.