Osteosarcoma – Symptoms and Causes
Overview
Osteosarcoma is a bone cancer that typically affects teenagers and young adults. However, it can develop in children and older adults as well. This cancer usually forms in the long bones of the legs or arms, but can originate in any bone.
In rare cases, osteosarcoma may develop in soft tissues outside the bone. Treatment options for osteosarcoma have improved over time, leading to better outcomes for patients.
However, the powerful treatments used to fight this cancer often cause lasting side effects. Healthcare providers typically recommend ongoing monitoring throughout a patient’s life to watch for these late-occurring effects.
Patients who have completed treatment for osteosarcoma should maintain regular follow-up appointments to ensure any complications are detected and addressed early.
Signs and Symptoms
Osteosarcoma typically begins in bone tissue. It most commonly affects the long bones in the legs, though it can sometimes develop in the arms. People with this condition may experience:
- Bone or joint pain that may come and go
- Pain from a bone that breaks without a clear cause
- Swelling around a bone
The pain might be mistaken for growing pains at first. These symptoms can develop gradually over time.
When to Visit a Doctor
If you or your child has ongoing bone pain or swelling that concerns you, schedule an appointment with a healthcare provider. Remember that these symptoms often match those of more common conditions, such as sports injuries.
Your healthcare provider will likely check for these more common causes before considering other possibilities.
Causes
Doctors don’t fully understand what triggers osteosarcoma to develop. The condition begins when bone cells experience DNA mutations. DNA contains genes that control cell functions, including growth patterns and lifespan.
In normal cells, DNA provides clear instructions for orderly growth and natural cell death. However, when mutations occur, these instructions become corrupted.
The altered DNA in cancer cells creates abnormal instructions that:
- Accelerate cell multiplication
- Prevent cells from dying when they should
- Allow uncontrolled growth
This excessive cell production often creates a mass (tumor). As this tumor grows, it can:
- Invade surrounding healthy tissue
- Damage normal bone structure
- Break away and spread to distant body areas
When cancer cells travel to other parts of the body, doctors call this metastasis. This spreading process makes the cancer more difficult to treat. The exact trigger for these initial DNA changes remains unknown, which makes prevention challenging.
Risk Factors
Certain factors may raise someone’s chance of getting osteosarcoma, though most people who develop this cancer have no known risk factors. These include:
- Family-Related Conditions: Hereditary retinoblastoma, Bloom syndrome, Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Rothmund-Thomson syndrome, and Werner syndrome.
- Bone Disorders: Paget’s disease of bone and fibrous dysplasia can increase risk.
- Previous Treatments: Exposure to radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
Currently, there are no known methods to prevent osteosarcoma from developing.
Health Challenges
When osteosarcoma moves beyond its original location, doctors call this metastasis. This spread makes treatment more complex and recovery more difficult. Most commonly, osteosarcoma travels to the lungs.
It may also spread to the same bone where it started or to different bones in the body. Early detection of spread is important for planning effective treatment.
Adjusting To Life After Limb Surgery
Surgeons always try to save the affected arm. However, in some cases, amputation may be necessary.
