Chondrosarcoma is a special type of malignant tumor disease. A malignant tumor is a malignant cell degeneration that belongs to the group of cancers. This cancer occurs mainly in men and is a special type of bone cancer. Chondrosarcoma does not respond particularly well to chemotherapy. Secondary chondrosarcoma may result from the prior spread of metastases from another cancer.
What is chondrosarcoma?
To further define chondrosarcoma, it is necessary to separate it from osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma is a form of bone cancer, as the serious disease is colloquially known, in which cells of the bone substance proliferate uncontrollably. In chondrosarcoma, dangerous cell malformations occur within the cartilage mass of a bone. To distinguish chondrosarcoma from chondroma, it is said that chondroma causes quantitatively less cell proliferation. The disease is the second most common disease, which belongs to the group of bone cancer. The cancer affects men far more often than women. This form of cancer causes relatively little pain and occurs mainly in the trunk area or femur, but also in the scapula area. If no other causes for the symptoms can be found, the treating physician will address the necessary steps. Patients often complain of pain in the area of the condition, suffering from painful or painless swelling. Drowsiness is reported, as well as some decrease in performance. Severe, unwanted weight loss can often occur. Patients report swelling of the lymph nodes and unusual pallor. All of these symptoms should be clarified by the physician, who still does not have to determine chondrosarcoma.
Causes
Experts can say little of value about the causes of the disease. Chondrosarcoma occurs primarily in men over 30, and more frequently after the sixth decade of life. In people who have undergone chemotherapy or radiation treatment, chondrosarcoma may recur or occur for the first time.
Symptoms, complaints, and signs
In the worst case, chondrosarcoma can cause the death of the affected person. This case usually occurs when the chondrosarcoma is not treated, allowing the cancer to spread throughout the affected person’s body. In this case, the patients suffer from very severe pain in the affected region and often swelling or swelling of the lymph nodes. The patient’s quality of life is considerably reduced and limited by the disease. Furthermore, the affected person suffers from permanent fatigue and exhaustion, so that most patients can no longer participate properly in everyday life. The patient’s resilience also drops significantly, so that strenuous physical activities or sports can no longer be performed without further ado. As a result, everyday life is significantly restricted, with some affected persons also being dependent on the help of other people. Chondrosarcoma can also lead to severe pallor. Most patients appear dazed or confused and therefore also suffer from coordination or concentration disorders. Psychological complaints can also occur as a result of a chondrosarcoma, with relatives also frequently suffering from psychological upsets. As a rule, the patient’s life expectancy is greatly reduced by chondrosarcoma.
Diagnosis
To be able to diagnose chondrosarcoma, a detailed medical history should first be taken. During a medical history, the patient’s medical history is requested and used to make a diagnosis. Then, an inspection is performed on the undressed patient. Inspection here is a medical term for an examination. An incisional biopsy must be performed to accurately determine the presence of chondrosarcoma. Subsequently, the biopsy channel should be removed, otherwise it may be likely that implatation metastases in the corresponding tissue will greatly jeopardize the recovery process. Prior to this, X-ray imaging techniques, MRI, and blood tests are used to begin to determine if the patient may have chondrosarcoma. Ultrasound equipment is also used to find the potentially malignant tissue.According to current statistics, patients have a chance of approximately five years of life after cancer treatment, according to medical classification.
Complications
Chondrosarcoma is a serious symptom that can lead to various complications. Because this is a cancer, these cannot be universally predicted. In most cases, chondrosarcoma is not directly noticed by the patient. There is slight pain, but this is perceived as ordinary and harmless. Thus, it is not obvious even to the physician if a chondrosarcoma is present in the patient. If the tumor spreads further, there is more severe pain and drowsiness. It is difficult for the patient to concentrate and performance usually decreases sharply. There is severe weight loss due to the tumor. This occurs even if the patient does not change his diet. The underweight weakens the immune system and the patient feels weak and powerless. Treatment is only successful in a few cases and only slows down the progression of the chondrosarcoma. As a rule, the disease leads to death. The treatment is mainly based on surgical interventions and radiotherapy and chemotherapy. This can slow down the spread of the tumor. In mild cases, the bone tissue is completely removed. Severe cases do not respond to any treatment. In this case, death occurs after some time.
When should you go to the doctor?
The chances of recovery from malignant chondrosarcoma as a cartilage tumor depend very much on the earliest possible diagnosis. This is because far-advanced findings can often only be treated palliatively. The symptoms of chondrosarcoma are also so insidious because at the beginning of the disease there are usually no or very few symptoms. The faster and further the tumor grows, the more swelling and pain occur in the affected soft tissue area. Painful movement restrictions can also be the result of a rapidly growing chondrosarcoma. It therefore always depends on the location and size of the malignant cartilage tumor whether and to what intensity symptoms occur. However, the physician should be consulted at the latest as soon as these symptoms are noticed, either individually or in combination. A comprehensive medical history with radiological and hematological diagnostics should then be taken immediately. The malignant tumor also causes the affected bone to lose considerable strength, which is why bone fractures can occur spontaneously without external influence. In this case, too, a specialist should be consulted immediately. Already any limited mobility of a limb should be reason enough to consult a doctor. This is especially true for patients who have already been diagnosed with chondrosarcoma in the past. In addition, about half of those affected experience a feeling of illness with fever in the early stages of the disease. The physician should also be consulted for these general symptoms, especially if the fever does not remit, i.e., recede, after three days at the latest.
Treatment and therapy
Because chondrosarcoma is particularly resistant to radiation and does not respond particularly favorably to chemotherapy, surgery is usually performed. Amputations are not necessary in the majority of cases. Tumor endoprostheses are often used for the joints in the affected parts of the body in order to achieve a nimble recovery and load-bearing capacity as well as high mobility anew. At the same time the effect is achieved that the malignant, i.e. diseased bone tissue has been removed from the body. Although, as mentioned, chemotherapy and radiation treatment may be less effective compared to other cancers, both are used therapeutically as needed in chondrosarcoma. In addition to chemotherapy, which is often unfortunately very high in dose, supportive radiation with carbon ions or protons is resorted to as a curative means to eliminate chondrosarcoma. If a hopeless form of the disease is present, palliative treatment is ultimately used.
Prospect and prognosis
Chondrosarcoma has an unfavorable prognosis. Essentially, however, it depends on early detection and the patient’s general health. If other diseases are present or if the patient is at an advanced age, the prospects of cure decrease considerably.Since bone cancer usually forms new metastases within a short time, early treatment is necessary. Otherwise, the cancer cells spread rapidly in the organism and can lead to further cancers. This means that the chances of recovery are reduced many times over if the start of treatment is delayed. Many patients suffer a significant reduction in average life expectancy as a result of the disease. According to statistics, approximately 5 years after the onset of chondrosarcoma, only 30% of patients are still alive. Particularly aggravating is the fact that the usual cancer therapy is only very poorly effective in the case of chondrosarcoma. Therefore, despite surgical intervention, the disease is rarely considered completely cured. In addition, there are numerous sequelae and lifelong impairments caused by chondrosarcoma. Movement restrictions and psychological disorders are increasingly diagnosed in patients, which contributes to a significant reduction in quality of life. The recurrence rate of chondrosarcoma is comparatively high. In addition, if the bone cancer is diagnosed again during a patient’s lifetime, the chances of survival decrease by another.
Prevention
Because the causes of chondrosarcoma are largely unknown, the best that can be advised is a healthy lifestyle. A balanced, healthy diet is unlikely to do any harm, as is adequate exercise. Fresh air and striving for mental well-being should be similarly beneficial as avoiding excessive stress. The fact that tobacco and other carcinogenic toxins should be avoided does not require any further explanation and should be self-evident.
Aftercare
For aftercare following surgery for chondrosarcoma, there are so far only plans for study patients. Physicians generally recommend a follow-up period of up to five years for sarcomas and tumors. Especially the appointments for routine examinations play a very important role for patients during this time. Depending on the malignancy grade of the disease, an interval of four to six or of two to four months is recommended for local and systemic examinations. However, there are no generally valid follow-up recommendations for bone sarcomas, to which chondrosarcoma belongs. Therefore, there is always an individual consultation in which patients receive all necessary information from their physician. During the follow-up, analyses of local recurrences, distant metastases and, if necessary, local problems with the reconstruction of extremities take place. Here, the relationship of trust between patient and physician plays an extremely important role. The individual examination results and questions about the diagnosis of spread are important topics in this context that absolutely must be discussed. The planning of postoperative therapy is also an important element of follow-up care. However, reliable evidence on the efficacy of chemotherapeutic treatments is not available for this indication.
Here’s what you can do yourself
Chondrosarcoma is a serious disease and requires extensive medical treatment. Affected individuals should speak with various specialists after diagnosis and, in consultation with them, decide on a suitable therapy. In cooperation with experts in the field of tumor diseases, an individual therapy can be worked out that is optimally adapted to the patient’s constitution. The actual chemotherapy can be supported by rest and bed rest. An adapted diet improves well-being and can reduce individual symptoms such as skin irritations or pain. In the long term, patients should consult a therapist. Especially in the case of severe tumor diseases, the exchange with a specialist is important. If necessary, the therapist can also put the patient in touch with other sufferers or recommend further measures. In particular, attending a self-help group helps many tumor patients to understand their disease and learn how to cope with it. In any case, close monitoring by the physician is necessary. If unusual symptoms occur, the physician must be informed. The use of alternative therapies should also be discussed in advance with the responsible physician.
