Sarcoma of the spine: what is it, symptoms, treatment, prognosis

Sarcoma of the spine – cancer. Difficult diagnosed and almost asymptomatic in the early stages. The complexity of its diagnosis in the tumor and its close proximity to the internal organs. Diagnostics are performed in the presence of an oncologist, a specialist neurosurgery, a surgeon. Sarcoma of the spine is considered a rare disease, with multiple manifestations. The tumor is actively growing, progressing, and the probability of a lethal outcome for the patient is great.

Mortality from disease is frequent, because the tumor is actively growing, there are often relapses and metastases penetrate into all tissues and affect nearby organs. Sarcoma is very dangerous for children and adolescents, which are in the process of the growth of the body quickly develops connective tissue. The disease mainly affects men. Treat sarcoma of the spine oncologists, neurologists and other specialists.

Types of sarcomas

Osteosarcoma is a neoplasm localized in the spinal column and affects the bone tissue. More often in men, children and adolescents, rapidly growing and spreading metastases to other organs. These tumors may be localized on one (monoscale tumors) or multiple bones (cover not only the vertebrae but also the adjacent bone). Starts with a dull pain not sharp, so often the patient accepts it as a consequence of spinal injuries.

The growth of the tumor, the pain, skin lesions are shiny, becoming thinner affects the vascular pattern. The patient feels a mobility limitation, and on palpation, affected by tumors of the plot felt a sharp pain. The pain does not pass in the night, cannot be removed with medicines and do not depend on the loads. Osteosarcoma spreads quickly, and its metastases impress other organs. Ewing's sarcoma is more common than other tumors occurring in children.

Chordoma is a tumor affecting the spinal cord of the patient. It is a long time evolving, often has relapses. The tumor metastasizes in the last stages of development, and to develop in the body, it can up to 10 years.

Often it appears in the sacral region, and the bulk of the patient go to the doctor with a diagnosis of chordoma is men after the age of 40 years. The symptoms are: pain that radiates into the limbs or crotch. The clinical picture resembles sciatica, which makes diagnosis of disease difficult.

Chondrosarcoma. This is typical of tumors of cartilage origin. Suffer from this type of disease usually men 25-59 years. It begins at vertebral arches and processes, often goes to the rest of the vertebrae, cartilage, ribs. Chondrosarcoma usually appears in the sacrum and lower back.

• See also: causes of burning sensation in lower back

Fibrosarcoma – a tumor in connective tissue, localized to the tendons or muscle fascia. Symptoms of this variety of sarcoma is different from others: the site of the lesion formed node blue-brown, the skin early in the disease visual not changed, palpation of the affected area is painful. The tumor was growing rapidly, disseminated metastases, in the treatment of relapses are not uncommon.

Plasmacytoma – a disease for which long. The hard tumor is diagnosed, it affects the vertebrae of the patient. Cases people usually older than 40 years. The disease starts with pain between the shoulder blades. Pain occur periodically. Progression of plasmacytoma pain become stronger, particularly with movement (bending, turning body). During diseases of the spine more prone to fractures, it is often plasmacytoma, asymptomatic, and detected during an x-ray of the fractures themselves.

For each kind of disease requires its own method of diagnosis and treatment. Correct diagnosis will be able only a professional technician (surgeon or oncologist).

The symptoms of sarcoma are divided according to the location of the tumor:

• Neck;
• Thoracic;
• Back.

All manifestations of the disease are divided into three main groups:

1. Radicular symptoms. They appear before the others, especially when the location of the tumor in the spine. The patient complains of pain, they are reminiscent of sciatica, and neuralgia. The nature of pain different from acute attacks (lumbago) before tightening or girding the pain. They are likely to worsen in the supine position. So the disease is easily disguised as chondrosis, sciatica or neuralgia. The patient feels a burning sensation in the hands or feet, "creepy" starts tinglingfeeling.
2. Segmental symptoms are more common for tumors located in the spine. Cancer the tumor restricts movement, there is a temporary paralysis (paresis), numbness of the adjacent tissues.
3. Conduction symptoms affect the motor activity of the patient, causing paresis and paralysis, and they manifest themselves in all parts of the body below the tumor. The patient complains of decrease in the sensitivity of tissues and extremities.

The main first distinct symptom that the patient feels is pain. First pain arise from time to time, quickly Danny smiled, puzzled, sometimes the body temperature rises to 38 degrees.

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With the growth of malignant tumour pain become stronger, you begin to worry at night, goes into spasms. The use of pain medication does not bring relief.

When the tumor increases in height, the muscles and ligaments come in tone, there is a compression of the spinal cord, starts the incontinence of urine and feces. The patient is a change of gait, accompanied by impaired coordination of movements. On the human body there are bruises. In addition to the sarcoma of the spine has all the symptoms for cancer: the patient loses weight, he has apathy, the person becomes irritable, starts weakness. Sometimes the disease manifests itself only seals in the spinal column.

Diagnosis

The doctor listens to the complaints of the patient, examines him and diagnoses a disease based on laboratory tests. When x-rays observed an outbreak of the disease in the vertebra, having a contour with jagged edges, visible soft tissue tumors. Nand the picture is noticeable destruction of the cortical layer. MRI by the doctor allows to understand the size of a malignant tumor, how it interacts with the surrounding tissues. Sometimes we recommend passing scintigraphy.

For the diagnosis can be used in genetic research. Often the doctor produces a blood test for tumor markers and other diagnostic techniques. And to confirm or refute the diagnosis will help histology. To investigate the biological material helps the puncture of the vertebra produced by x-rays. And to detect metastases located deep in tissues using x-ray, skeletal scintigraphy and MRI of the brain.

Treatment

To defeat the disease by removing it surgically, not always, the tumors often grow into nearby organs and tissues. Used for treatment courses of combination therapy, including radio - and polychemotherapy. If metastases have grown deep into the tissue, it is possible to use doctors radiation therapy with radiation in high doses. After this treatment, the patient requires a stem cell transplant or spinal cord.

Recovery depends on the stage of the cancer, its location and distribution in the tissues. If sarcoma has a high differentiation (slow growing, takes up a small area, not metastatic) after treatment there comes the period of remission in 65-70% of patients. Chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation helps to save 30% of patients with sarcoma of the spine. If the tumor responds to treatment of the above-mentioned methods, almost half of patients can live up to 7 years.