What Is Bone Cancer?
Malignant bone cancer is a tumor in the bones that can spread to other parts of the body. Cancer is caused by an abnormal mutation of DNA. Doctors are not exactly sure what causes the mutation of DNA in the bone, yet they have pinpointed risk factors that are linked to bone cancer.
Cancer can develop in any bone. Bones are made of a hard outer shell with a soft spongy bone marrow center. When cancer starts in the bones it is called primary bone cancer. In other words, the bone was the original location of the mutated DNA that led to cancer.
According to the Mayo Clinic, there are three main types of bone cancer. Osteosarcoma is a cancer of the bone that affects both children and adults, often in their knee or upper arm. Chondrosarcoma starts in the cartilage and occurs most often in the shoulder, leg or pelvis. Ewing's sarcoma is a bone cancer that may develop first in the nerve tissue.
Cell Division
Scientists with the American Cancer Society are studying why a person's DNA changes and becomes cancerous. Our DNA is made up of genes and some genes instruct our cells to divide, while other genes stop the cells from dividing. Sometimes the cells that stop division are mutated, and they do not stop cell division, and this can cause a tumor to grow in the bone. According to the American Cancer Society, "some people with cancer have DNA mutations that they inherited from a parent. These mutations increase their risk for the disease." Scientists know which DNA mutations cause bone cancer; genetic testing may be done to see if the bone cancer is inheritable.
Causes
Even though bone cancer can be inherited, only a small number of cancers are in actuality linked to heredity. According to the American Cancer Society the type of bone cancer that may be inherited is usually an osteosarcoma, or the type that affects children and young adults.
Exposure to radiation and chemotherapy in the treatment of other cancers can cause bone cancer later on. According to the American Cancer Society, the small amount of radiation in a normal dental X-ray or routine chest X-ray does not pose any cancer risk. But exposure to large amounts of radiation, such as radiation therapy to treat another cancer, does pose a bone cancer risk.
Being exposed to radioactive materials such as radium and strontium cause bone cancer. Exposure to normal household radiation such as microwaves, cell phones, and power lines do not increase risk of bone cancer.
Paget's disease can later cause bone cancer. Paget's disease results in the abnormal thickening of bones. It is not life threatening, unless it develops into bone cancer.
Tags: bone cancer, bone cancer, American Cancer, American Cancer Society, Cancer Society