Benign Bone Tumors
What causes benign bone tumors?
Bone tumors form when bone cells
divide and grow out of control, forming a lump or a mass of cells. We don’t
know why this happens in most cases.
What are the symptoms of benign bone
tumors?
Symptoms of benign bone tumors
include:
An obvious swelling or lump.
Pain, possibly severe, that
increases in intensity. It may hurt even when you’re resting.
Breaks or fractures due to bones
made weaker by a growing bone tumor.
In most cases, these tumors have no
symptoms and are incidentally discovered on an X-ray obtained for an injury.
How are benign bone tumors
diagnosed?
If you’re concerned about a lump or
swelling on a bone, first make an appointment with your healthcare provider.
They will start with a complete physical examination and are likely to order
tests, such as:
Imaging tests, including X-rays,
computed tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
Bone scan.
It’s rare that your provider will
order blood or urine tests to diagnose a benign blood tumor. A bone tumor
specialist will likely order a bone scan, CT scan, MRI scan or biopsy. The
appropriate first step is an initial evaluation and X-rays. Your pediatrician
or primary care provider can order these first tests.
How are benign bone tumors treated?
There is no single treatment for
benign bone tumors. Treating a benign bone tumor depends on things like the
specific type of tumor, its size, its location and the effect has on bone
strength.
In many cases, your provider may
suggest just watching and waiting (observation). In other cases, your provider
may suggest medication, specialized imaging, a biopsy, or removing the tumor
surgically.
Most benign tumors respond well to
surgical removal. In many cases, the likelihood that the tumor will come back
is low — usually less than 5%. Some benign bone tumors, like giant cell tumors
of bone, have a higher rate of return, but there are good methods to treat
these tumors if they do come back.
What procedures treat benign bone
tumors?
Treating benign bone tumors using
surgery calls for removing the tumor as well as promoting the growth of new
healthy bone at the site of the tumor. The surgeon caring for these tumors
should try to remove the tumor with the least amount of trauma to surrounding normal
bone tissue.
Surgeons should also have experience
with proper stabilization of the bone with orthopedic hardware and bone
grafting — as necessary. The combination of these techniques allows people with
benign bone tumors, especially young people, to be able to return to full and
unlimited activities after treatment.
Other treatments can be used for
certain types of bone tumors. One treatment for osteoid osteoma may include
radiofrequency ablation or thermal necrosis. These procedures require anesthesia,
are often done as a combined approach and involve orthopedic surgeons and
radiologists. Aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) can be treated with serial
(repeated) injections of a medication called doxycycline and have a good chance
of resolving without an open surgery.
What are the risks of surgery for
treating benign bone tumors?
It’s unusual to have major problems
with these surgeries because they are mostly straightforward. However, rare
(but possible) risks include nerve injury, infection, bleeding, stiffness and
an inability to return to a high level of sport.