Chondrosarcoma

There are several subtypes of chondrosarcoma, named because of the way they appear under a microscope:

‘Conventional chondrosarcoma’ and ‘clear cell chondrosarcoma’ are most often low to medium grade tumours. They are generally not very aggressive and tend not to spread to other parts of the body.

‘Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma’ and ‘de-differentiated chondrosarcoma’ are higher grade, aggressive tumors that tend to spread throughout the body.

Occasionally, people with chondrosarcoma will be able to feel a boney bump at the site of the cancer. They will likely experience pain at this site, pressure, swelling or limited movement caused by the tumour.

Any persistent bone pain (that lasts for a few weeks, without any other likely explanation) should be checked by your doctor or an orthopaedic specialist.

Diagnosing chondrosarcoma

Chondrosarcoma is most often discovered through x-ray. Additional tests, including a bone scan, CT scan, MRI and/or PET scan will provide more detailed information, as it can be difficult to differentiate a benign bone tumour from chondrosarcoma. The surest way to diagnose, is through a biopsy procedure which will extract a sample of the cancer cells for analysis under a microscope.

The results of any imaging scans and the biopsy will inform the patient’s treatment options.

Chondrosarcoma treatment

Historically, the preferred treatment of chondrosarcoma was through complete surgical removal of the tumour, together with a wide margin of healthy tissue, most often leading to amputation.
However, major improvements have been made in surgery for most bone cancers and the surgery can be more targeted. While surrounding tissue will still need to be removed together with the tumour, the affected bone area is then often replaced with a metal prosthesis or a bone graft (taken from another part of the body) to assist recovery.

If the cancer affects a bone in or near a joint, the whole joint can often be replaced with a prosthesis. These operations are known as ‘limb sparing’ surgery.

When it isn’t possible to use this surgery, for example, when the cancer has spread to surrounding nerve cells and blood vessels, an amputation might be the patient’s best option.

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are rarely used to treat chondrosarcomas, although they might be advised in special situations.

A risk factor for Chondrosarcoma is often the following existing medical conditions:

• Ollier’s Disease (also known as enchondromatosis)
• Maffucci Syndrome
• Multiple Hereditary Exostoses
• Wilm’s Tumour
• Paget’s Disease
• Previous treatment with chemotherapy or radiation therapy at a young age.