Health encyclopaedia

Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List

Cancer of the bone

There are two kinds of bone cancer. The most common kind spreads from a cancer in another organ, and is called secondary bone cancer. This topic is about primary bone cancer, which starts in the bone itself. The way that secondary bone cancers grow and are treated  is quite different to primary bone cancer.

Primary bone cancer is extremely rare - it only affects one person in a million, and mainly those between the ages of 10 and 20 years old. There are fewer than 550 new cases in the UK each year.

The main type of primary bone cancer is osteosarcoma. This usually appears at the lower end of the thighbone (femur) or the knee joint, but it can appear in other long bones. It destroys bone and spreads rapidly, both into the surrounding tissues and then further away throughout the body. The cancer cells produce a bony substance called osteoid, which builds up into lumps on the bone.

Other types of primary bone cancer include:

• Ewing’s sarcoma or Ewing’s tumour. Cells of this type of cancer look different from osteosarcoma cells. It most commonly affects the pelvis, thighbone and shinbone.
• Chondrosarcoma. This type of cancer begins in the cells that make cartilage, the stretchy tough material in joints. It can form in the cartilage, within a bone, or on the surface of a bone. Unlike more common bone cancers, it is usually found in people aged between 40 and 75 years. 
• Spindle cell sarcomas, such as malignant fibrous histocytoma, fibrosarcoma, and leiomyosarcoma. They are very similar to osteosarcomas but unlike osteosarcomas, they do not produce the bony substance, osteoid. 
• Chordoma. This is an extremely rare cancer that begins in the bones of the spine.

• Symptoms
• Causes
• Diagnosis
• Complications
• Treatment

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