Brief introduction to osteosarcoma related knowledge

Osteosarcoma is like a tumor. It can seriously harm our body and even cause loss of life. Many people have only a limited understanding of osteosarcoma. Many people will ignore this disease and delay the best treatment time. Therefore, it is necessary to fully understand osteosarcoma. Now let us learn about the common knowledge about osteosarcoma!

1. What is osteosarcoma?

Osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor that originates in the bone, characterized by the direct formation of bone or bone-like tissue by tumor cells. In addition to hematopoietic tumors (such as myeloma and bone lymphoma), osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor, which is more common in adolescents aged 10-20 years old and often involves the knee joint (distal femur or proximal tibia).

2. What are the types of osteosarcoma?

According to clinical characteristics, the site of onset in the bone and pathological characteristics, it can be divided into many types, among which the most common is common osteosarcoma originating from the medullary wall (also known as central osteosarcoma or intramedullary osteosarcoma), which accounts for about 80% of all osteosarcomas. Other types include telangiectatic osteosarcoma, small cell osteosarcoma, parosteal osteosarcoma, periosteal osteosarcoma, low-grade central osteosarcoma, etc. The vast majority of osteosarcomas are highly malignant (high-grade) tumors, but there are also some special types that are low-grade malignant (low-grade) tumors, such as low-grade parosteal osteosarcoma and low-grade central osteosarcoma.

3. How is osteosarcoma treated?

For low-grade malignant osteosarcoma, surgical treatment is the main treatment. If the resection is thorough, the prognosis is good. However, among osteosarcomas, low-grade malignancies only account for a small proportion, and most are highly malignant. For these osteosarcomas, a comprehensive treatment based on chemotherapy and surgery is required. Chemotherapy includes preoperative chemotherapy (neoadjuvant chemotherapy) and postoperative chemotherapy (adjuvant chemotherapy), which is very important in the treatment of osteosarcoma. It is precisely because of the popularization and standardized development of chemotherapy that the 5-year survival rate of osteosarcoma has increased from less than 20% to more than 60%. Surgery is also an extremely important part of the entire treatment. Whether the tumor can be completely and thoroughly removed is the key to the success of the treatment. Incomplete resection will inevitably lead to recurrence, and recurrence will greatly increase the risk of distant metastasis.

The above is a brief introduction to common knowledge related to osteosarcoma. I believe everyone knows what osteosarcoma is. If you have symptoms of osteosarcoma, you must go to a regular hospital for examination in time and do not delay the best treatment time.