X-ray manifestations of chondrosarcoma-like bone cancer

Chondrosarcoma is a malignant bone cancer that occurs in chondrocytes. It can be divided into primary and secondary types. The former comes from the residual chondrocytes in the bone or at the tendon attachment, and the latter comes from the malignant transformation of benign cartilage-derived tumors such as osteochondroma or enchondroma. It is mainly composed of tumor chondrocytes with different degrees of differentiation and calcification. It is more common in adults over 30 years old. The most common sites are the long bones of the limbs, with the femur, humerus and tibia being the most common, followed by the ilium. It can be divided into two types according to the site of onset: central type and peripheral type. The X-ray manifestations are as follows:

1. Central type

This type mostly occurs in the medullary cavity of long bones, with bone destruction present as single or multiple translucent areas, in which irregular calcification can be seen, and the bone cortex slightly expands, thins or is destroyed. Sometimes onion-skin-type or triangular-shaped periosteal proliferation can be seen.

2. Peripheral type

This type is mainly a soft tissue mass next to the bone, in which irregular calcification can be seen and mild periosteal reaction may occur. Bone destruction occurs later and is milder.