A recent study revealed that children with bone cancer suffer from symptoms that may be ignored or confused with normal injuries or infections, which leads to delaying the diagnosis and reducing the chances of survival.
Experts in the United Kingdom warned of the danger of ignoring some of the early signs that may indicate that one of the most fierce types of cancer in children and youth, is bone cancer, stressing that awareness of these symptoms is still seriously low, although early diagnosis is the main key to increasing survival chances .
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Nutingham, and its results were published in the “Archives of Disease in Childhood” on February 5, and the British Daily Mail was written about it.
Experts pointed out that there are about 150 new cases that are diagnosed annually in children in the United Kingdom, but the long -term survival rates have not improved for more than 15 years, as less than 7 out of 10 patients can live for more than five years after the diagnosis.
Studies show that three -quarters of bone cancer cases in the UK are initially diagnosed, as patients visit doctors on average 8 times before they are transferred to a specialist, delaying the start of treatment.
What is bone cancer?
Bone cancer is a rare type of cancer that arises in bone cells, and is considered more common among children and adolescents, as it often arises at the ends of long bones such as legs and arms, especially around the knee and shoulder arthropods, with the possibility of the tumor in other parts of the skeleton.
According to the UK Cancer Research, one of the most prominent types of bone cancer:
- Osteosarcoma: people can be injured at any age, but it is the most common among adolescents (10-19 years). It grows in any part of the skeleton, but the most common sites include the thigh bone, the upper leg and the upper arm.
- Ewing’s Sarcoma: more common among children (0-14 years) and adolescents. It is usually created in the hip, thigh, shoulder and ribs.
Although among the 10 most common cancerous types among children, the level of awareness of its symptoms is still low, which leads to a late diagnosis that reduces the chances of survival.
Symptoms of bone cancer that are ignored
Researchers at the British University of Nottingham analyzed the symptoms that have suffered more than 1,400 patients under the age of 18, of whom 492 people have bone sarcoma and 932 people with Euying sarcoma, and the results revealed that patients suffer from 36 different symptoms, may be confused and symptoms of less common health conditions, Like injuries and infection.
The symptoms of bone cancer were the most common:
- Pain (64%).
- Swelling (22%).
- Fever (3%).
- Pain and swelling together (3%).
- Tangible subcutaneous mass (2%).
- Unjustified fractures (2%) where the tumor has greatly weakened bones, a sign that drives doctors to perform the necessary examinations that reveal bone cancer.
Other symptoms also included:
- Inability to perform daily activities naturally.
- Large and difficulty walking.
- Increased size of the affected area as a result of fluid accumulation in the body.
The results also showed that the Euing patients patients are more likely to be fever, the appearance of masses and poor extremities, while orthopedic sarcoma patients suffer from unjustified fractures, severe pain and weight loss. Research has shown that the five -year survival rate in bone sarcoma patients is 50%, while the average of Saroma Iwing patients is about 67%.
The rate of survival after cancer – or survival statistics – is determined by a percentage of a certain type of cancer for a specific time period. Cancer statistics often use the total survival rate for 5 years.
Survival rates are usually provided in percentage. For example, the total survival rate for 5 years of bladder cancer is 77%. This means that among all people with bladder cancer, 77 in 100 people live after 5 years of diagnosis. On the contrary, 23 of every 100 people die in 5 years of diagnosis of bladder cancer.
The doctors stressed the importance of raising the level of awareness of the symptoms of bone cancer between both doctors and patients, stressing that monitoring symptoms early can change the course of treatment significantly, and reduces the chances of relapse after treatment, which is the first step to reduce suffering and save the lives of children and young people who face this Aggressive cancer.
Diagnosis and treatment … race with time
Due to the similarity of bone cancer symptoms with other diseases, diagnosis requires specialized tests such as:
- X -rays to detect abnormal changes in the bones.
- MRI to see the spread of the tumor.
- The biopsy to analyze the sample taken from the affected bone and ensure the presence of cancer cells.
As for treatment, it depends on the stage of the disease and the tumor site, and includes:
- Chemotherapy: which is used to reduce the size of the tumor before surgery or to kill the remaining cancer cells after eradication.
- Surgery: To remove the affected tumor, and in some cases the infected bone is replaced by an artificial bone.
- Radiotherapy: It is used with Euying Sarkoma to destroy the remaining cancer cells.
- Air: It may be necessary if the cancer is spread to the neighboring tissues, which makes the tumor removal difficult without affecting the nerves or blood vessels.