Cancer Information Tips :: Childhood Osteosarcoma
Childhood Osteosarcoma: An Overview of Osteosarcoma During Childhood
Childhood osteosarcoma is a common form of malignant bone cancer and the 6th most common form of cancer in children under the age of 15. The disease affects over 500 adults and 400 children every year, with a two-thirds survival rate.
Causes of Osteosarcoma
Unfortunately, the causes behind osteosarcoma are not known. Theories exist about environmental triggers such as fluoride in drinking water or exposure to radium.
Symptoms Associated with Osteosarcoma
The first complaint or symptoms that most patient is pain at the tumor location, typically this pain is more severe at night. Large tumors can often look like swelling. Another feature is that the bone affected by the cancer is often weaker and more susceptible to fracture.
Over 50% of all cases of childhood osteosarcoma occur around the knee area.
Risk Factors
Age
The risk of osteosarcoma is highest during the teenage “growth spurt” period. Since children with osteosarcoma are often tall for their age, some researchers believe there may be relationship between rapid bone growth and the risk for developing the disease.
Gender
Osteosarcoma is close to twice as common in males than in females.
Radiation
People who have undergone radiation treatment for other cancers have a higher risk of developing osteosarcoma.
Other Bone Diseases
People with other non-cancerous bone diseases, such as Paget's disease of the bone or a family history of osteosarcoma, have an increased risk of later developing the disease, but usually as an adult.
Genetics
Childhood osteosarcoma is often more prevalent in children with certain rare cancer syndromes that are inherited – such as retinoblastoma or Li-Fraumeni syndrome.
Types of Osteosarcoma
There are three sub-types of osteosarcoma that can be recognized by how they look on X-rays and under a microscope. Some of these sub-types have a better prognosis than others.
The sub-types are high grade, a conventional, small cell and high grade surface development of the disease; intermediate, which is periosteal; and low grade, which is parosteal and characterized by low grade intrasseous.
Treating Osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma is sometimes treated with surgery – typically, the biopsy and surgical treatment of the disease are done by the same surgeon. The surgical treatment is either amputation of the affected limb or limb-sparing surgery.
Patients or the parents of patients should consult with their surgeon about the best method and how best to remove the cancer while saving as much use of the affected arm or leg as possible.
Most cases of childhood osteosarcoma are treated with chemotherapy given as an adjuvant (addition) to surgery. The drugs used to treat osteosarcoma include high-dose methotrexate, doxorubin, cisplatin, ifosfamide, etoposide, carboplatin and cyclophosphamide.
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CancerInfoTips.com :: Childhood Osteosarcoma