Bone tumor

Bone tumor is an inexact term, which can be used for both benign and malignant abnormal growths found in bone, but is most commonly used for primary tumors of bone, such as osteosarcoma (or osteoma). It is less exactly applied to secondary, or metastatic tumors found in bone.

Symptoms

The most common symptom of bone tumors is pain, but many patients will not experience any symptoms, except for a painless mass.

Classification

Bone Tumors can be divided into primary and secondary tumors. Secondary tumors can be further subdivided into:

Metastatic tumors
Tumors resulting from contiguous spread of adjacent soft tissue neoplasms
Tumors representing malignant transformation of the pre-existing benign lesions.

Primary tumors

Primary bone tumors are rare (less than 1% of all malignant tumors) and are most common in young men. The four most common types of primary bone tumors are:

: osteosarcoma
: chondrosarcoma
: Ewing's sarcoma
: multiple myeloma
Osteoclastoma
Fibrosarcoma

Metastatic tumors

The most common tumors which account for bone metastases are breast cancer, lung cancer, and prostate cancer. Metastatic tumors more frequently involve the axial skeleton than the appendicular skeleton.

Treatment

Treatment for some bone tumors may involve surgery, such as limb amputation. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are effective in some tumours (such as Ewing's sarcoma) but less so in others (such as chondrosarcoma)

External links

bonetumor.org