A recent study revealed that children with bone cancer suffer from symptoms that can be ignored or confused with normal injuries or infections, which leads to delaying diagnosis and reducing the chances of survival.
Experts from the United Kingdom have warned of the danger of ignoring some of the first signs that may indicate that one of the most ferocious types of cancer in children and young people is bone cancer, stressing that awareness raising These symptoms are still very low, although early diagnosis is the main key to increasing the chances of survival.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Nutingham, and its results were published in the “Archives of the disease in childhood” on February 5, and the British Daily Mail was written on this subject.
Experts stressed that there were around 150 new cases which are diagnosed each year in children in the United Kingdom, but long-term survival rates have not improved for more than 15 years, as less than 7 patients out of 10 can live more than more than five years after the diagnosis.
Studies show that three quarters of cases of bone cancer in the United Kingdom are initially diagnosed, as patients visit doctors on average 8 times before being transferred to a specialist, delaying the start of treatment.
What is bone cancer?
Bone cancer is a rare cancer type that occurs in bone cells and is considered more frequent in children and adolescents, as it often arises at the ends of long bones such as legs and arms, in Particularly around the arthropods of the knee and shoulders, with the possibility of the tumor in other parts of the skeleton.
According to the United Kingdom Cancer Research, one of the most important types of bone cancer:
- Osteosarcoma: People can be injured at any age, but it is the most common in adolescents (10-19 years old). It grows in any part of the skeleton, but the most common sites include the bone of the thigh, the top of the leg and the upper arm.
- Ewing sarcoma: more common in children (0-14 years) and adolescents. It is usually created in the hip, thigh, shoulders and ribs.
Although among the 10 most common cancer types in children, the level of consciousness of its symptoms is still low, which leads to a late diagnosis which reduces the chances of survival.
Bone cancer symptoms that are ignored
Researchers at the British University of Nottingham Analyzed The Symptoms that has suffered more than 1,400 patients under the age of 18, of Whom 492 People Have Bone Sarcoma and 932 People With Eying Sarcoma, and the Results Revealed that patients suffer from 36 Be confused and symptoms of less common health problems, such as injuries and infection.
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 considerably weakened the bones, a sign that pushes doctors to perform the necessary examinations that reveal bone cancer.
Other symptoms have also included:
- Inability to naturally perform daily activities.
- Large and difficulty walking.
- Increase in the size of the affected area due to the accumulation of liquid in the body.
The results have also shown that patients with EUING patients are more likely to be fever, the appearance of masses and bad extremities, while patients with orthopedic sarcoma suffer from unjustified fractures, severe pain and Weight loss. Research has shown that five -year survival rate in bone sarcoma patients is 50%, while the average for Saroma Iwing patients is around 67%.
The survival rate after cancer – or survival statistics – is determined by a percentage of a certain type of cancer for a specific period of time. Cancer statistics often use total survival rate for 5 years.
Survival rates are generally supplied as a 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 people out of 100 people live after 5 years of diagnosis. On the contrary, 23 in 100 people die in 5 years of diagnosis of bladder cancer.
Doctors have highlighted the importance of increasing the level of awareness of the symptoms of bone cancer between doctors and patients, stressing that monitoring early symptoms can significantly change treatment and reduces the chances of relapse after treatment , which is the first step in reducing suffering and saving the lives of children and young people who face this aggressive cancer.
Diagnosis and treatment … race over time
Due to the similarity of symptoms of bone cancer with other diseases, diagnosis requires specialized tests such as:
- Rays X to detect abnormal changes in the bones.
- MRI to see the spread of the tumor.
- 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 eliminate the affected tumor and, in some cases, the infected bone is replaced by an artificial bone.
- Radiotherapy: It is used with Sarkoma Eying to destroy the remaining cancer cells.
- Air: Cancer may be necessary to spread to neighboring tissues, which makes the elimination of the tumor difficult without affecting the nerves or blood vessels.