Cancer begins with a change in the structure of DNA. DNA provides our cells with a basic set of instructions, such as when to grow and reproduce.
A change in DNA structure is known as a mutation, and it can alter the instructions that control cell growth. This means that the cells continue to grow instead of stopping when they should. This causes the cells to reproduce in an uncontrollable manner, producing a lump of tissue called a tumour.
How does bone cancer spread?
Left untreated, the cancerous cells can spread away from the affected area of bone. This can involve an inward spread into the bone marrow (the jelly-like material found inside bones) or outwards into the blood and then usually into the lungs.
Known risk factors
Bone cancer is a poorly understood condition and, as a result, only a small number of risk factors for the condition have been identified. These include:
- Fast-growing bones – as the majority of cases of bone cancer occur in teenagers it is thought that the rapid growth spurt that occurs during puberty may in some way make bone tissue more vulnerable to cancer.
- Higher rates of bone cancer have also be found in certain breeds of dogs that experience rapid bone growth.
- Previous exposure to high doses of radiation, such as undergoing radiotherapy; however, the increased risk that is associated with radiotherapy is small.
- Paget’s disease of the bone, which is an uncommon bone condition that causes weakening of the bones. However, less than 1 in 100 people with the condition will develop bone cancer in later life.
- Rare genetic conditions such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome, which affects around 1 in every 142,000 people.
- A history of retinoblastoma. This is a rare type of childhood cancer which develops in the eye. People who have had this condition have an increased risk of developing bone cancer.
Research has also found that babies who are born with an umbilical hernia are three times more likely to develop Ewing’s sarcoma than others.
An umbilical hernia is where tissue pokes through the part of the abdomen near to the belly button. It is thought that as an unborn baby develops, the unknown factors that cause the hernia to develop may also contribute to an increased risk of Ewing sarcoma. It is unclear why this is the case.
However, the increased risk is still very small as only one in 110,000 children with an umbilical hernia will go on to develop Ewing’s sarcoma.
Benign:Benign refers to a condition that should not become life-threatening. In relation to tumours, benign means not cancerous.
Doses:Dose is a measured quantity of a medicine to be taken at any one time, such as a specified amount of medication.
Gene:Genes contain information that you inherit from your parents, such as eye or hair colour. They are carried by chromosomes.
Genetic:Genetic is a term that refers to genes (the characteristics inherited from a family member).
Google+
Causes of bone cancer
