The recent news about the Queen Elizabeth II and her alleged battle with bone cancer, revealed by Boris Johnson in his memoirshas raised questions about what this type of cancer really entails. Although it has not been specified whether the Reina suffered from primary bone cancer or metastasiswe wanted to talk to him Dr. Ricardo Cubedo, Head of Sarcomas and Hereditary Cancer at MD Anderson Cancer Center Madrid. This specialist has given us a clearer vision about what is bone cancer and how it differs from other types of cancer.
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Differences between primary bone cancer and bone metastasis
To begin with, this specialist indicates that one of the main reasons why the bone cancer causes confusion It is the difference between cancers that start in the bones and those that spread to them from other organs. In fact, Dr. Cubedo insists that it is important to make this distinction: “When we talk about a primary bone cancer, we are referring to a sarcoma, which is a completely different entity than one bone metastasis”.
The specialist emphasizes that bone metastases are much more common than sarcomas. “He breast or lung cancer usually spreads to the bones in its advanced stage. But that does not mean that it is a primary bone cancer,” he comments.
In addition, bone cancer that arises directly in this part of the body, called bone sarcoma, it is much rarer. “True bone cancer is part of the family of sarcomas, which are rare cancers by definition,” he explains. Furthermore, Dr. Cubedo adds that within bone sarcomas there are several categories.
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Types of bone sarcomas
As the oncologist details, sarcoma is not a single disease, but there are different types: “We have the osteosarcomawhich is the most common and generally affects the long bones of the extremities; he chondrosarcomawhich is born in the cartilage, and the fibrosarcomawhich originates in the fibrous tissue of the skeleton.” He also mentions the Ewing sarcomaa less frequent variant, but equally aggressive and which is now better known thanks to the dissemination that was made of it the deceased Elena Huelva and that the son of Ana Obregon.
“Osteosarcoma, which is probably what most people associate with bone cancer, has two peaks of incidence: one in adolescents and another in older people”he explains. This cancer is characterized by rapid growth and often presents as a lump on the extremities, accompanied by pain. “It is a cancer that spreads quickly, especially to the lungs and other parts of the skeleton,” he adds.
Treatment for this type of cancer
Treatment of osteosarcoma usually requires combination of surgery and chemotherapy. “The primary treatment is surgery to remove the tumor, but even if we manage to remove it, the rate of relapses with metastasis is very high”, warns Dr. Cubedo. Due to this aggressiveness, chemotherapy is almost always used, both to reduce the risk of metastases and to treat those that have already appeared.
In relation to the advances that may have been made in this type of cancer, the MD Anderson Cancer Center Madrid specialist regrets that they have been limited. “There has been no really significant progress in recent years. We continue using conventional chemotherapies that have been in use for a long time,” he points out.
But despite the rarity of this disease and its resistance to treatments, research continues to find more effective therapies.
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The future of bone cancer
Despite the difficulties in treating bone cancer, Dr. Cubedo is optimistic about the future. “We are beginning to better understand genetic mutations that cause these tumors, which opens the door to more targeted treatments,” he comments. However, it recognizes that there is still a long way to go to improve both survival and quality of life of patients with bone sarcoma.
