Postoperative recurrence symptoms of osteosarcoma

Written by Na Hong Wei
Orthopedics
Updated on November 27, 2024
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Symptoms of recurrent osteosarcoma after surgery are generally consistent with the symptoms before the initial surgery. The main symptoms include: Firstly, localized pain, which is persistent, progressive, and does not alleviate, including pain that worsens at night. Secondly, localized swelling, which usually occurs around the surgical site if limb-sparing surgery was performed, or at the stump if amputation was done. Thirdly, the appearance of systemic cachexia and symptoms of metastasis. Systemic cachexia typically includes weight loss, anemia, fatigue, and loss of appetite. For osteosarcoma, metastasis primarily targets the lungs, where numerous cancerous shadows can be detected. Thus, the main recurrent symptoms of osteosarcoma after surgery include pain, swelling, and cachexia.

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Written by Na Hong Wei
Orthopedics
1min 7sec home-news-image

What are the symptoms of osteosarcoma?

The main symptom of osteosarcoma is localized pain, primarily at the distal end of the femur, the proximal end of the tibia, and the proximal end of the humerus. This pain tends to worsen continuously, with nighttime pain often more severe than during the day, which is a significant characteristic of osteosarcoma. The second symptom is the presence of a local mass, which is often spindle-shaped and generally located near a joint. This mass often leads to limited joint mobility, and the skin over the mass typically has a high temperature. Sometimes, it may also be accompanied by visible swelling of superficial veins. The third symptom involves systemic cachexia, which includes unexplained weight loss, generalized weakness, and even an anemic condition. The fourth point pertains to osteolytic osteosarcoma, which often leads to bone destruction, reduced bone strength, and consequently, even minor external forces can cause fractures. These are called pathological fractures. Thus, the symptoms of osteosarcoma generally include these four points.

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Written by Fang Da Zheng
Orthopedics
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Are osteosarcomas sensitive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy?

Osteosarcoma is generally insensitive to radiotherapy, hence radiation therapy is not used for such diseases in clinical settings. Similarly, these diseases have a moderate sensitivity to chemotherapy, necessitating the use of relatively high doses of chemotherapy during treatment. The main mechanism of chemotherapy involves using a series of cytotoxic drugs to inhibit tumor growth. Although high-dose chemotherapy can effectively kill tumor cells, it can also damage some of the patient's normal cells, leading to severe reactions. If radical surgery is viable for these patients, then curative surgery is the preferred method of treatment.

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Written by Li Jie
Orthopedics
1min 9sec home-news-image

Symptoms of osteosarcoma recurrence

Osteosarcoma is a relatively common type of malignant bone tumor, ranking second in incidence among malignant bone tumors. Typically, upon the development of osteosarcoma, surgery is required to scrape out the tumor focus, followed by limb-sparing or amputation surgery. Additionally, adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy are employed. Generally, the local area may be maintained for a period, but the disease is prone to recurrence. There may be local recurrence at the site of surgery or distant recurrence, meaning tumor cells might seed and lead to tumors in other locations. Symptoms of both local and distant recurrences are similar to those at the initial onset, generally including significant pain, night pain, and rest pain. There will also be distinct X-ray signs of osteosarcoma in the bone. Furthermore, osteosarcoma may metastasize to the lungs, potentially causing symptoms such as cough, bloody sputum, phlegm, and fever—typical signs of intrapulmonary tumors. These are some of the common symptoms associated with the recurrence of osteosarcoma.

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Written by Kuang Tao
Orthopedics
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The main metastasis pathways of osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is a primary tumor of bone tissue. The tumor can metastasize through the bloodstream, lymphatic system, or nearby tissue. The most common site of metastasis for osteosarcoma clinically is to the lungs. Therefore, it is often recommended that patients undergo chest X-rays or even chest CT scans to detect any metastasis to the lungs.

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Written by Na Hong Wei
Orthopedics
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Osteosarcoma bone metastasis symptoms

The symptoms of osteosarcoma metastasis, osteosarcoma most commonly metastasizes to the lungs. If pulmonary metastasis occurs, there are at least two prominent characteristics. The first is that most metastatic tumors are located on the surface of the lungs and are rarely within the lung parenchyma, thus, they are not difficult to detect. The second point is that most metastatic tumors predominantly present as multiple bilateral lung metastases. Isolated unilateral lung metastasis is very rare. Therefore, this characteristic determines that osteosarcoma lung metastasis can only be managed with local wedge-shaped or segmental lung resections as the basic comfort measure. In fact, this simple surgical approach often allows for complete removal of the metastatic tumors while preserving most of the normal lung tissue.