What are the symptoms of osteosarcoma?

Written by Wang Cheng Lin
Orthopedics
Updated on January 10, 2025
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Symptoms of Osteosarcoma:

The first is pain at the site of occurrence. This pain may be intermittent and not very pronounced in the early stages. As the condition progresses, the severity of the pain gradually increases, transitioning from intermittent to persistent pain;

The second is the formation of a lump. You can feel a lump on the limb with your hand, and this lump is clearly tender to the touch;

The third is limping, which is mainly caused by the pain in the limb;

The fourth is the most common systemic symptoms. Patients with this malignant tumor will exhibit fever, weight loss, anemia, and pathological fractures.

These are the main symptoms of osteosarcoma currently observed in clinical settings.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin
Orthopedics
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The common sites of osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma commonly occurs in the long tubular bones of the limbs, such as the femur, tibia, and humerus, especially near the joints of these long bones where the incidence is highest. In children, the distal femur and proximal tibia account for about three-quarters of all bone tumors. Osteosarcoma can also occur in the proximal humerus, the spine, and the ribs, although it is less common in these locations. The most frequent sites remain the long tubular bones in the limbs.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin
Orthopedics
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What tests are done to diagnose osteosarcoma?

The most accurate diagnostic method for osteosarcoma is biopsy, where live tissue is extracted and sent for pathological examination. The positive rate of this method can reach over 90%. Besides biopsy, there are several other methods to examine such conditions. For example, X-rays can be taken to observe significant damage to the bone structure. Secondly, CT scans and MRI can be used to determine whether the bone tumor has infiltrated surrounding tissues. MRI can also detect if there are metastases to organs outside the lungs. The third method is radionuclide bone scanning, which primarily aims to check for distant metastases of osteosarcoma.

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Written by Wang Cheng Lin
Orthopedics
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How long is the latent period of osteosarcoma?

In clinical practice, there is no such thing as a latency period for malignant bone tumors, because these tumors progress very quickly. So, if you experience symptoms such as swelling and pain in the affected limb, if you can feel a mass, and if the pain severely impacts your daily life, you should promptly go to a hospital to get an imaging test done to determine whether a bone tumor is present. Only through imaging and accurate diagnosis can early diagnosis and treatment be achieved, which is the best treatment approach for osteosarcoma. Therefore, in clinical practice, there is no concept of a latency period for malignant bone tumors.

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Written by Li Xin
Pediatric Orthopedics
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osteosarcoma X-ray presentation

The variations in the X-ray appearance of osteosarcoma are quite large, but the basic characteristics are a mix of osteolytic destruction and pure bony changes. In most cases, besides the mixed changes, there is also destruction of the bone cortex and invasion of soft tissues, with visible periosteal reaction. The epiphysis has a certain blocking effect on the tumor, hence it rarely crosses the epiphyseal line. On the X-ray, changes indicative of skip metastasis can be seen, along with typical Codman's triangle or sunburst patterns. Beneath the periosteum, there are fine, needle-like sunburst radiating changes, which are fairly typical radiographic changes of osteosarcoma and are generally used to diagnose the condition.

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Written by Li Jie
Orthopedics
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incidence of osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma, also known as osteogenic sarcoma, is a primary malignant tumor of the bone and has a relatively high incidence rate. Among primary bone tumors, the incidence of osteosarcoma is second only to plasma cell myeloma, ranking second. Osteosarcoma typically occurs in tubular bones, commonly affecting the rapidly growing metaphyseal regions. The distal femur, proximal tibia, and proximal humerus are the most frequently affected sites. Between 50%-70% of all cases occur around the knee joint. The common age range for this disease is between 10 to 20 years old, with a higher prevalence in males than in females.