Children are at high risk of bone tumors, so pay attention to these situations!

Author: Niu Xiaohui, Chief Physician of Beijing Jishuitan Hospital

Reviewer: Zhang Zhihai, Chief Physician, Guang'anmen Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences

When we think of the high-risk population for cancer, we usually only think of the elderly. In our subconscious, we feel that young people rarely get cancer, and we don’t associate cancer with children.

However, children are also more susceptible to bone tumors.

1. Are bone tumors serious?

First of all, we need to know that bone tumor is a general term, not a specific tumor. In order to understand whether a bone tumor is serious, we must first determine the specific type of bone tumor.

Bone tumors are divided into two categories:

One type is a tumor that occurs in the bone itself, which is called a primary bone tumor.

Primary bone tumors are divided into benign, malignant, and a rare intermediate type. They may grow as invasive tumors locally but rarely metastasize. They are both malignant and benign, and we call them intermediate.

Of course, primary bone tumors can also be classified according to the different origins of tumor cells, different genetic compositions, etc. These classifications are very complex and may not be very meaningful to our patients. They are mainly used to distinguish these tumors for more precise treatment.

Another type of bone tumor is secondary bone tumor, which is metastatic to the bones from other parts of the body. It is also called bone metastasis. Since it is metastatic, this type of bone tumor must be malignant.

For secondary bone tumors, we need to distinguish where in the body they are transferred from. For example, lung cancer, breast cancer, gastric cancer, etc. may all transfer to the bones and cause bone metastases. Their tumor cells are different, and the treatment methods are definitely different.

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Generally speaking, benign bone tumors may not have much impact on the body, while malignant bone tumors are relatively serious. However, its severity should also be judged based on the specific type and different stages of the malignant bone tumor.

2. Which age group is more likely to get bone tumors?

Whether it is a primary bone tumor or a secondary bone tumor, since people have bones throughout their lives, it can occur at any age.

The first peak incidence of bone tumors is in the elderly. Why?

Because the elderly are more likely to get various malignant tumors. For example, breast cancer and lung cancer mainly occur in the middle-aged and elderly population. With the progress of treatment for these tumors, the survival time of these patients has been extended, and more and more patients have bone metastasis.

Therefore, the first peak incidence of bone tumors is in the elderly, usually over 50 years old.

In addition, one characteristic of bone tumors is that the incidence rate is relatively high during the process of rapid bone growth, so childhood and adolescence are also the peak periods for the incidence of bone tumors.

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Fortunately, if children have bone tumors, most of them are benign. Benign bone tumors often have no obvious symptoms, so they may not go to the doctor, so it is difficult to detect them when they are young.

When you are old and have arm or leg pain, you may go for an X-ray and find out that you have a benign tumor. In fact, you may have had it when you were a child, but it was never discovered.

3. What benign bone tumors may children get?

The most common benign bone lesion is bone cyst. For children, bone cysts can occur during the growth period, when the child's bones mature, that is, when they stop growing, which is about 16 years old for boys and 14 years old for girls. After the bones stop growing, the bone cysts will start to heal on their own, so if you don't take an X-ray, you won't find it.

However, there is one situation where patients will definitely go for an X-ray, and that is a fracture. This is because benign bone lesions may cause bone loss, which makes fractures more likely. If you go to the hospital for an X-ray because of a fracture, you can find this benign bone cyst.

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Another type of benign bone tumor is osteochondroma, which is a 90-degree deviation of the normal bone growth at the epiphysis, the end of the bone. A bulge can be felt at the location of the diseased joint, but it generally does not affect the normal movement of the joint. These patients often do not pay attention to it at first, and only discover it later when they go to the hospital for an X-ray.

There is also a benign bone tumor called non-ossifying fibroma. This disease rarely causes symptoms and is usually discovered when you go to the hospital for an X-ray when you are older. At this time, it has already healed itself, but it will leave a mark on the bones, so people think that non-ossifying fibroma may also be a benign tumor.

The above benign tumors generally occur in childhood and will gradually repair and heal themselves after adulthood.

4. What symptoms should alert you to malignant bone tumors?

As the name suggests, a tumor must first of all be a "swelling", that is, a lump, and secondly, there must be "pain". Pain means that the body's normal tissues have been damaged and invaded.

As for children, they may not be able to describe their discomfort symptoms, but parents may find some abnormalities when bathing their children. For example, the child is unwilling to move his arms. If they observe or touch carefully, they may find a lump somewhere in the bone.

Therefore, bone pain and lumps may be bone tumors.

Of course, the incidence of malignant bone tumors is very low. For example, malignant osteosarcoma only occurs in 3-4 patients per million people. However, once you get this tumor, if you don't get early treatment, you will lose not only your limbs, but also your life.

Therefore, when abnormal conditions such as lumps, pain, etc. appear in the bones, don't worry too much, but don't let your guard down either. You must go to the hospital in time and listen to the doctor's advice. It may be possible to achieve early detection and timely treatment by taking an X-ray.