Benign tumors may be painless, but often they cause bone pain. The pain can be severe. Pain may occur when at rest or at night and tends to progressively worsen.
Symptoms. A lump or swelling can be the first sign of a benign tumor. Another is ongoing or increasing aching or pain in the region of the tumor. Sometimes tumors are found only after a fracture occurs where the bone has been weakened by the growing tumor.
Benign tumors are not usually problematic. However, they can become large and compress structures nearby, causing pain or other medical complications.
Benign lesions form in a bone and can grow locally but do not spread to other organs to cause harm. Malignant lesions, more commonly referred to as cancer, are lesions which may form and develop in the bone but have the capacity to spread to other areas of the body and continue to grow.
Most patients with a bone tumor will experience pain in the area of the tumor. The pain is generally described as dull and achy. It may or may not get worse with activity. The pain often awakens the patient at night.
Imaging is used not only for local staging but also to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions. MRI is the preferred imaging modality for the evaluation of soft-tissue masses in clinical practice.
Signs and symptoms of bone cancer
persistent bone pain that gets worse over time and continues into the night. swelling and redness (inflammation) over a bone, which can make movement difficult if the affected bone is near a joint. a noticeable lump over a bone. a weak bone that breaks (fractures) more easily than ...
Benign bone tumors are most common in people who are under 30 years old. A large portion of benign bone tumors are found in children while their skeletons are still growing.
Osteochondromas are the most common, accounting for 30% to 35% of benign bone tumors. Giant cell tumors account for 20%, osteoblastomas for 14%, and osteoid osteomas for 12%. All others are less common.
Most osteosarcomas occur in children, teens, and young adults between the ages of 10 and 30. Teens are the most commonly affected age group, but people of any age can develop osteosarcoma. About 1 in 10 osteosarcomas occur in people older than 60.
“Most benign tumors aren't life-threatening. They can be left alone as they are unlikely to cause damage to any other areas of your body. In fact, many individuals carry benign tumors that don't require treatment, such as moles, throughout their lives.”
Lumps that could be cancer might be found by imaging tests or felt as lumps during a physical exam, but they still must be sampled and looked at under a microscope to find out what they really are. Not all lumps are cancer. In fact, most tumors are not cancer.
While many benign tumors do not need treatment, some do, especially if they are causing symptoms. Usually if a benign tumor requires treatment, we remove it surgically. Whenever possible, we use minimally invasive techniques, which require small incisions and have minimal recovery time.
The most common bone cancer symptom is pain, though sometimes these tumors are painless. The pain may be mild or severe. Many people describe it as throbbing, aching or stabbing. Some people develop a lump in the area that may be hard or soft to the touch.
Blood tests, a biopsy, or imaging—like an X-ray—can determine if the tumor is benign or malignant.
A benign tumor is not a malignant tumor, which is cancer. It does not invade nearby tissue or spread to other parts of the body the way cancer can. In most cases, the outlook with benign tumors is very good. But benign tumors can be serious if they press on vital structures such as blood vessels or nerves.
Bone cancer is rare, making up less than 1 percent of all cancers. In fact, noncancerous bone tumors are much more common than cancerous ones. The term "bone cancer" doesn't include cancers that begin elsewhere in the body and spread (metastasize) to the bone.
Bone tumors can affect any bone in the body and develop in any part of the bone — from the surface to the center of the bone, called the bone marrow. A growing bone tumor — even a benign tumor — destroys healthy tissue and weakens bone, making it more vulnerable to fracture.
Osteosarcoma (also called osteogenic sarcoma) is the most common primary bone cancer. It starts in an early form of bone cells. It most often occurs in young people between the ages of 10 and 30, but about 1 in 10 osteosarcomas develop in people older than 60.
Some benign tumors can become cancerous over time (for example, in your colon or skin). If you have a benign neoplasm, a healthcare provider should monitor it regularly.
Blood tests are not needed to diagnose bone cancer, but they may be helpful once a diagnosis is made. For example, high levels of chemicals in the blood such as alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) can suggest that the cancer may be more advanced.
Bone x-ray
Bone x-rays may show if the cancer started in the bone (primary bone cancer). Or if the cancer spread to the bone from somewhere else in the body (secondary bone cancer). Sometimes the way the bone looks on an x-ray can help the doctor tell which type of bone cancer it is.
Depending on where the tumor is, it might be possible to feel a lump or mass. Limb pain and swelling are very common in normal, active children and teens. They are much more likely to be caused by normal bumps and bruises, so they might not prompt a doctor visit right away. This can delay a diagnosis.