Table of contents:
- What are bone lesions?
- Various causes of bone lesions, based on the type
- Benign bone lesions
- Malignant bone lesions
- What are the symptoms of a bone lesion?
- What is the treatment for bone lesions?
Sores can not only occur on the skin on the outside of your body or on the soft tissues of your internal organs. Bones can also be injured. In medical terms, ulcers, sores, or abnormal growths of tissue on the bone are called bone lesions. Bone wounds can be dangerous if not treated immediately. Abnormal tissue growth in the bone can even spread to the surrounding bone area and affect other parts of the body. Here is all the complete information about bone lesions you need to know.
What are bone lesions?
Bone lesions are areas of the bone that are changed or damaged. Lesions can affect any part of the bone and develop anywhere in the bone, from the surface of the leg bones to the bone marrow at the center.
The lesion can destroy and weaken the surrounding healthy bone tissue. This condition makes the bones more prone to cracks or even fractures.
Various causes of bone lesions, based on the type
Causes of bone lesions include infection, fracture, or tumor. Most of the causes of bone lesions are harmless, non-life-threatening, and rarely spread to other parts of the body. However, if the lesion is caused by abnormal bone cell development, the lesion can turn into a malignant tumor leading to bone cancer. It is this bone lesion that needs more attention.
Based on their cause, bone lesions are divided into two categories: benign lesions and malignant lesions. Here are the details:
Benign bone lesions
Lesions are said to be benign if they are caused by things that are not cancerous and are life threatening, and they usually do not spread. Abnormal bone cell development does not always lead to cancerous tumors. Thus, these non-cancerous tumors are known as benign tumors.
Several bone diseases that can cause benign lesions, namely:
- Non-ossifying fibroma
- Unicameral bone cyst
- Osteochondroma
- A large tumor
- Enchondroma
- Fibrous dysplasia
- Chondroblastoma
- Aneurysm bone cyst
Malignant bone lesions
The lesion is said to be malignant if it is caused by the development of healthy bone cells that turn into cancer cells. Bone cancer itself is divided into two types: primary and secondary bone cancer.
The four most common forms of primary bone cancer are multiple myloma (attacks the soft tissue in the middle of the bone, which produces blood cells), osteosarcoma (affects children, especially the femur and spine), Ewing's sarcoma, and chondrosarcoma (attacks the group of beaks. middle age to the elderly; especially the hip, hip, and shoulder bones).
As for secondary bone cancer, it is usually caused by cancer cells from other parts of the body that have spread to the bones, aka metastases. Some cancers that can spread to the bones are breast cancer, lung cancer, thyroid cancer, kidney cancer, and prostate cancer.
What are the symptoms of a bone lesion?
Sometimes an injury to the bone can cause pain in the affected area. This pain is usually described by the presence of pain and discomfort doing activities. You may also have fever and night sweats.
In addition to pain, some people experience abnormal growths of tissue in these bones that can cause stiffness, swelling, or pain if pressure is applied to the affected area. Pain can come and go just like that, but the symptoms may be worse at night.
If the bone lesion is caused by cancer, the symptoms can differ depending on the type of cancer that caused it.
What is the treatment for bone lesions?
If you show symptoms of a bone lesion, the doctor will first check it with a regular X-ray. Fetal bone lesions can generally be treated with drugs. However, in children, the lesions may disappear on their own over time.
In some cases, surgery may be required to patch the lesions and reduce the risk of fractures. However, benign lesions on the bone can come back at any time, even after you've healed. In rare cases, they can spread or become malignant.
If the lesion is malignant, treatment options include surgical removal of the lesion, bone grafts, bone replacement metal implants, to cancer-related therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation. Treatment of bone cancer will be adjusted according to the type and severity of the stage.
Sometimes, if the cancer cells have spread from the bones to the nerves and blood vessels, the affected body part may need to be amputated.
