Does osteosarcoma cause pathological fractures?

Does osteosarcoma cause pathological fractures?

The incidence of pathological fracture in osteosarcoma is from 5% to 12%. There are many reports on osteosarcoma and pathological fracture, [1–16] most of these reports only dealing with patients without metastases at diagnosis. Pathological fracture can be the presenting feature or it can occur during treatment.

What is pathologic fracture?

A bone fracture is a complete or incomplete discontinuity of bone caused by a direct or indirect force. A pathological bone fracture is a bone fracture which occurs without adequate trauma and is caused by a preexistent pathological bone lesion.

Why is it called a pathological fracture?

A break is called a pathologic fracture when force or impact didn’t cause the break to happen. Instead, an underlying disease leaves your bones weak and brittle.

How is a pathological fracture treated?

The goals of treatment are pain relief, reversal or stabilization of neurological deficits, and stabilization of the spine. For the most part, nonoperative treatments are recommended for less severe pathologic fractures. These include taking pain medications, limiting physical activity, and wearing a brace.

Where do pathological fractures occur?

Pathologic fractures occur through areas of weakened bone attributed to either primary malignant lesions, benign lesions, metastasis, or underlying metabolic abnormalities, with the common factor being altered skeletal biomechanics secondary to pathologic bone.

Which is an example of a pathologic fracture?

A pathological fracture is one in which breaks in the bone were caused by an underlying disease. Examples of pathological fractures include those caused by cancer (see Figure 1), osteoporosis, or other bone diseases.

How does a pathologic fracture occur?

What is the most common pathological fracture?

The femoral neck and head are the most common locations for pathologic fracture because of the propensity for metastases to involve proximal bones and because of the stress of weight placed on this part of the femur.

How does a pathological fracture occur?

What is the best treatment for fractures of long bones?

Treatment includes immobilising the bone with a plaster cast, or surgically inserting metal rods or plates to hold the bone pieces together. Some complicated fractures may need surgery and surgical traction.

How does pathological fracture affect the prognosis in patients with osteosarcoma?

The development of a pathological fracture is a negative prognostic indicator in osteosarcoma and is associated with a reduced five-year event-free survival and a possibly higher rate of local recurrence.

Can a low grade osteosarcoma be painless?

These patients present with localized pain with or without mass/swelling. Pathologic fracture may be the initial manifestation in few cases of osteosarcoma. It is important to know that low grade osteosarcomas usually presents as painless mass forming lesion.

Is the bone matrix involved in osteosarcoma?

Osteosarcoma is defined as a malignant tumor in which the bone matrix is produced by tumor cells. long bones are more commonly involved., although any bone can be involved. Some of the conditions are associated with osteosarcoma. These include 1. Pagets disease

What are the features of an osteosarcoma tumor?

The tumor is composed of highly pleomorphic cells with hyperchromatic nuclei, prominent nucleoli , some of them with highly bizzare morphology. These tumor cells form woven bone which is neoplastic. This woven bone is primitive in nature and deposited as disorganized trabeculae around tumor cells, in a lace like pattern.