Musculoskeletal Oncology Center

Relevant Links

Managing Pain related to Cancer and Bone

This booklet provides information on pain management for cancer patients with bone complications. The information includes methods doctors use to monitor and measure pain, treatments for bone pain, and information on various medical specialists who assist patients with pain management.

Surgical Management of Cancer that spreads to the Bone

The need for surgery is based on the condition of the cancer that has spread to the bone and the quality of the bone affected by the cancer. Affected bones that do not represent a risk for fracture may be treated with radiation or medical treatment to prevent further bone destruction rather than surgery. Bones affected by cancer that are significantly weakened and at risk of developing a pathologic fracture should be stabilized through surgery.

Osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is a cancerous tumor that occurs in the bone.

Most osteosarcomas appear in the long bones of the body, such as the femur (the thigh bone) the tibia (the shinbone) or the humerus (the bone that runs from the shoulder to the elbow),although they can appear in any bones.

Myeloma Bone Disease Current and Future Treatment

Multiple Myeloma is a cancer that results from a malignant change in a particular type of white blood cell which is found in the bone marrow. This cell is called a plasma cell and it normally helps fight infections.

National Cancer Institute re: Bone Cancer

Primary bone cancer is cancer that forms in cells of the bone. Some types of primary bone cancer are osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, and chondrosarcoma. Secondary bone cancer is cancer that spreads to the bone from another part of the body (such as the prostate, breast, or lung).