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Concept
Chondrosarcoma
Summary
Chondrosarcoma is a bone sarcoma, a primary cancer composed of cells derived from transformed cells that produce cartilage. A chondrosarcoma is a member of a category of tumors of bone and soft tissue known as sarcomas. About 30% of bone sarcomas are chondrosarcomas. It is resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Unlike other primary bone sarcomas that mainly affect children and adolescents, a chondrosarcoma can present at any age. It more often affects the axial skeleton than the appendicular skeleton.
Back or thigh pain
Sciatica
Bladder Symptoms
Unilateral edema
The cause is unknown. There may be a history of enchondroma or osteochondroma. A small minority of secondary chondrosarcomas occur in people with Maffucci syndrome and Ollier disease.
It has been associated with faulty isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 and 2 enzymes, which are also associated with gliomas and leukemias.
Imaging studies – including radiographs ("x-rays"), computerized tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – are often used to make a presumptive diagnosis of chondrosarcoma. However, a definitive diagnosis depends on the identification of malignant cancer cells producing cartilage in a biopsy specimen that has been examined by a pathologist. In a few cases, usually of highly anaplastic tumors, immunohistochemistry (IHC) is required.
There are no blood tests currently available to enable an oncologist to render a diagnosis of chondrosarcoma. The most characteristic imaging findings are usually obtained with CT.
Nearly all chondrosarcoma patients appear to be in good health. Often, patients are not aware of the growing tumor until there is a noticeable lump or pain. Earlier diagnosis is generally accidental when a patient undergoes testing for another problem and physicians discover cancer. Occasionally the first symptom will be a broken bone at the cancerous site. Any broken bone that occurs from mild trauma warrants further investigation, although there are many conditions that can lead to weak bones, and this form of cancer is not a common cause of such breaks.
Official source
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