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BODYCAST - THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE CSOT Orthopaedic
Oncology Abstract Orthopaedic oncology is a highly subspecialized field within orthopaedics dealing with tumours, benign and malignant, primary and secondary, arising within the musculoskeletal system. Examples of conditions that present include benign bone tumours such as giant cell tumour and osteochondroma, malignant bone tumours such as osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma, metastatic bone tumoursfrom primary sites in the breast, kidney, lung and prostate, and primary soft tissue sarcoma arising in muscles and around joints. Musculoskeletal tumours are rare entities. Whereas cancer of the lungs accounts for more than 20,000 new cases and 16,000 deaths in Canada annually, primary malignant bone tumours occur in only 300 Canadians and cause approximately 130 deaths on an annual basis. So why are they of interest? The best answer to this question is to consider the example of Terry Fox. Terry was a typical case of a patient with osteosarcoma – young, active, with much to contribute to society. The majority of musculoskeletal tumours with which orthopaedic oncologists deal arise in young patients, often in teenagers, and have profound effects on their lives.
This abstract is a portion of the article
which appears in the Winter 2006 issue of BodyCast.
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