All You Need to Know About Bone Cancer Treatment
About bone cancer
Cancer that begins in the bone (known as primary bone cancer) is not the same as cancer that starts in another part of the body and spreads (or metastasizes) to the bone (called secondary bone cancer or metastatic cancer). Although tumors may develop in any of the bones of the body, primary bone cancer most often develops in the long bones of the arms and legs. Primary bone cancer (or bone sarcoma) is rare in adults, accounting for fewer than 0.2 percent of all cancers. Sarcomas can form anywhere in the body, including bone, muscle, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, fat tissue and other tissues.
What kind of treatment is needed for bone sarcomas?
After a complete diagnosis and stage are established, the details are discussed in a “ Sarcoma tumor board”, and a treatment plan is made.
The treatment plan that’s best for the patient will depend on:
Surgery and radiation treat only the cancer in the bone. They do not affect the rest of the body.
Chemo and targeted drugs go through the whole body. They can reach cancer cells anywhere in the body.
Doctors often use both types of treatments for bone cancers. The treatment plan that’s best for you will depend on:
- * The type of bone cancer
- * Where the cancer is
- * The stage of the cancer
- * The chance that a type of treatment will cure the cancer or help in some way
- * Age
- * Other health problems
Most bone sarcomas will require a wide excision where the complete tumor is removed with a cuff of normal tissue all around. It is possible to exercise a tumor completely while saving the leg or the hand in more than 90% of cases in today's times. Besides surgery, chemotherapy is also often required particularly in sarcomas that affect children and adadolescent. Radiation therapy is also sometimes needed in addition to surgery.