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Chondrosarcoma is a rare type of bone cancer that originates from the cartilage. Cartilage is a connective tissue that covers the bones, act as a cushion in the joint surfaces. This type of cancer is commonly found in the pelvis, hip, and shoulder.
The signs and symptoms of most chondrosarcomas are not visible at first due to their slow growth. Other rare types have a rapid growth making it harder to treat, as there is a high risk for the spread to other parts of the body.
There are many types of chondrosarcoma such as the following:
- Clear cell chondrosarcoma: commonly found in men between the ages 30-50 years old. It mostly grows slowly and tends not to spread to other parts of the body.
- Dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma: commonly found in older adults and prone to have a rapid progression. This mimics a high-grade sarcoma and occurs when there is a change in the cells from that of a typical chondrosarcoma.
- Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma – affects the younger adults. It tends to progress quickly and recur.
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of chondrosarcoma depend on location of the tumor, the following symptoms may indicate the disease:
- Bone pain or swelling of the area
- Weakness
- Problems of bowel or bladder control
- Fatigue
- Unexplained weight loss
Causes
The causes of chondrosarcoma are unknown. Cancer generally begins when there are changes in the cell’s DNA which are the instructions that specify to a cell as to what to do. The cells then multiply and destroy the normal tissue as well as further spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body.
Risk factors
Factors that may increase chondrosarcoma risk includes:
- Age: the disease commonly affects middle-aged and older adults.
- Certain bone diseases: The following diseases Ollier’s disease/ Maffucci’s disease are those type of diseases that cause noncancerous growths at the bones which could further become chondrosarcoma.
Diagnosis
The following tests are used for diagnosis of chondrosarcoma:
- Physical Examination: will be performed by the doctor to check for any signs and symptoms.
- Diagnostic Imaging Tests: includes Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Computerized Tomography (CT), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This is to determine the extent of the cancer.
- Tissue Biopsy: Involves removing a sample of suspicious issue for examination under a microscope in the laboratory to check for cancer. The biopsy result will also help determine the cell types.
Treatment
The most common type of treatment for chondrosarcoma is surgery. The other treatment options are based on the location, size and how aggressive the cancer is. Your general health condition and treatment choice is also taken into consideration by the doctor when deciding on which treatment to provide.
Surgery
The aim of surgery is to remove all of the cancer as well as some healthy tissue surrounding it, however the surgery will depend on the location of the disease. The removal of the cancer could be a limb-salvage or limb-sparing surgery.
- Scraping the cancer away from the bone. This treatment can be used for slow growing chondrosarcoma in the arms and legs. There could also be a use of cold gas or chemicals in order to destroy the remaining cancer cells, and bone grafting or bone cement can be done to repair the parts that were destroyed.
- Cutting away the cancer and its surrounding healthy tissue. This can be done with the removal of healthy tissues around the tumor. This procedure removes the part of the bone with the cancer or may remove the entire limb and then reconstruction must be done to repair the affected areas.
Chemotherapy
This procedure uses drugs to kill cancer cell. Chemotherapy is generally not effective for chondrosarcoma but may be effective in some fast-growing types of chondrosarcoma.
Radiation therapy
This uses high-energy beams to kill or stop the growth of cancer cells. During the therapy radiation may be directed to one area or other areas of the body affected by the disease. The area that the cancer cannot be completely removed will use this treatment in order to control the spread to other areas.
