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Osteosarcoma / Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma of Bone
What is osteosarcoma? Osteosarcoma is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells are found in the bone. It is the most common type of bone cancer. Osteosarcoma most often occurs in adolescents and young adults. In children and adolescents, tumors appear most often in the bones around the knee. The symptoms and chance for recovery in children and adolescents appear to be the same. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) of bone is a rare tumor of the bone. It may occur following radiation treatments. MFH is generally treated the same as osteosarcoma and appears to have a similar response to treatment. Ewing's sarcoma is another kind of bone cancer, but the cancer cells look different under a microscope than osteosarcoma cancer cells. (Refer to the PDQ summary on Ewing's Family of Tumors Treatment 1 for more information.) | ||||||
If a patient has symptoms (such as pain and swelling of a bone or a bone region), a doctor may order x-rays and blood tests. If it is suspected that the problem is osteosarcoma, your doctor may recommend seeing a specialist called an orthopedic oncologist. The orthopedic oncologist may cut out a piece of tissue from the affected area. This is called a biopsy. The tissue will be looked at under a microscope to see if there are any cancer cells. This test may be done in the hospital. The chance of recovery (prognosis) and choice of treatment depend on the size, location, type, and stage of the cancer (how far the cancer has spread), how long the patient had symptoms, how much of the cancer is taken out by surgery and/or killed by chemotherapy, and the patient's age, blood and other test results, and general health. Stage Explanation Stages of osteosarcoma Once osteosarcoma has been found, more tests may be done to find out if cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. This is called staging. At present, there is no staging system for osteosarcoma. Instead, most patients are grouped depending on whether cancer is found in only one part of the body (localized disease) or whether the cancer has spread from one part of the body to another (metastatic disease). Your doctor needs to know where the cancer is located and how far the disease has spread to plan treatment. The following groups are used for osteosarcoma: Localized osteosarcoma The cancer cells have not spread beyond the bone or nearby tissue in which the cancer began. In young patients, most tumors occur around the knee. Metastatic osteosarcoma The cancer cells have spread from the bone in which the cancer began to other parts of the body. The cancer most often spreads to the lungs. It may also spread to other bones. About one in five patients with osteosarcoma has cancer that has metastasized by the time it is diagnosed. Recurrent Recurrent disease means that the cancer has come back (recurred) after it has been treated. It may come back in the tissues where it first started or it may come back in another part of the body. Osteosarcoma most often recurs in the lung. When osteosarcoma recurs, it is usually within 2 to 3 years after treatment is completed. Later recurrence is possible, but rare. Treatment Option Overview How osteosarcoma is treated If it is suspected that the problem is osteosarcoma, before the first biopsy, your doctor may recommend a specialist called an orthopedic oncologist. There are treatments for all patients with osteosarcoma. Three kinds of treatment are used:
All patients with localized osteosarcoma should have surgery to remove the tumor, if possible. The doctor may remove only the cancer and some of the healthy tissue around the cancer (limb-sparing surgery). Sometimes all or part of an arm or leg may have to be removed (amputated) to make sure that all of the cancer is taken out. If cancer has spread to lymph nodes, the lymph nodes will be removed (lymph node dissection). In patients with osteosarcoma that has not spread beyond the bone, researchers have found no difference in overall survival whether patients have limb-sparing surgery or whether they have surgery with amputation. When the cancer can be taken out without amputation, artificial devices or bones from other places in the body can be used to replace the bone that was removed. Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be taken by pill or put into the body by a needle in a vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called systemic treatment because the drug enters the blood stream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body. Chemotherapy with more than one drug is called combination chemotherapy. Sometimes chemotherapy is injected directly into the area where the cancer is found (regional chemotherapy). In osteosarcoma, surgery is often used to remove the local tumor and chemotherapy is then given to kill any cancer cells that remain in the body. Chemotherapy given after surgery has removed the cancer is called adjuvant chemotherapy. Chemotherapy can also be given before surgery to shrink the cancer so that it can be removed during surgery; this is called neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Radiation therapy uses x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation for osteosarcoma usually comes from a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy). Treatment for osteosarcoma depends on the stage of the disease, where the cancer is found, and the patient's age and general health. A patient may receive treatment that is considered standard based on its effectiveness in a number of patients in past studies, or may choose to go into a clinical trial. Not all patients are cured with standard therapy, and some standard treatments may have more side effects than are desired. For these reasons, clinical trials are designed to find better ways to treat cancer patients and are based on the most up-to-date information. Clinical trials for osteosarcoma are ongoing in many parts of the country. If you want more information, call the Cancer Information Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237); TTY at 1-800-332-8615. Some cancer treatments cause side effects that continue or appear years after cancer treatment has ended. These are called late effects. Late effects of cancer treatment may include physical problems; changes in mood, feelings, thinking, learning or memory; and having second cancers (new types of cancer). Some late effects may be treated or controlled. It is important to talk with your child's doctors about the possible late effects caused by some treatments. Refer to the PDQ summary on Late Effects of Treatment for Childhood Cancer 2 for more information. Localized Osteosarcoma / Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma of Bone Treatment of osteosarcoma may be the following:
Treatment of malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone may be Neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by wide local excision of the tumor. Metastatic Disease at Diagnosis Metastatic disease is cancer that has spread from the place in which it started to other parts of the body. Osteosarcoma Treatment may be one of the following:
Surgery often includes removal of cancer that has spread to the lungs. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone The standard treatments for patients with unresectable or metastatic malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone have not been determined. Unresectable disease is cancer that cannot be removed with surgery. Recurrent Osteosarcoma Treatment depends on where the cancer recurred, what kind of treatment was given before, as well as other factors. A clinical trial may be a reasonable treatment option. If the cancer has come back only in the lungs, treatment may be surgery to remove the cancer in the lungs with or without chemotherapy. If the cancer has come back in other places besides the lungs, treatment may be combination chemotherapy. Clinical trials are evaluating new chemotherapy drugs. About the Author www.nci.nih.gov |
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