Unfortunately, no one is immune from cancer. The most dangerous among them are tumors formed in the spine. What are the symptoms and signs of spinal cancer? Features of the diagnosis and treatment are described in the article.
Description
Spine cancer is always the degeneration of normal body cells into malignant ones, which begin to grow uncontrollably and form a tumor. It can occur in any part of the spine, in the places of cartilaginous joints of the intervertebral discs, as well as in the bone marrow, which is located inside the spinal column.
Growing, the tumor can compress the spine, interfere with other organs, thereby causing a large number of concomitant diseases, which also worsen the quality of human life. Unfortunately, in most cases, spinal cancer is diagnosed in the last stages, when treatment does not lead to the desired result. This is due to the fact that the disease can be almost asymptomatic until the moment when metastases begin to affect nearby and distant organs. For this reason, whateverEven the slightest back discomfort should be seen by a doctor.
Causes of occurrence
Today it is difficult to say why cancer occurs. At the same time, oncologists identify several prerequisites that can become an impetus for cell regeneration:
- Hereditary predisposition (if there were or are people with cancer in the family).
- Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
- Hazardous work for a long period of time.
- Oncological diseases of the circulatory system.
- Exposure to radioactive radiation.
- Severe hypothermia of the back or previous severe spinal injury.
- Undernutrition, in which a person from an early age does not receive all the necessary vitamins and minerals for the normal development of bones and internal organs.
Also, among the prerequisites for the occurrence of spinal cancer, one can single out living in a polluted region, a violation of metabolic processes in the body, as well as past viral infections.
Varieties
Symptoms and signs of spinal cancer may vary slightly depending on where it is located. At the same time, several varieties of oncological diseases of the back are also distinguished:
- A tumor in the cervical spine is dangerous with metastases to the brain, as in a nearby organ, as well as paralysis of the whole body.
- A malignant neoplasm in the thoracic spine may have complications onorgans such as the heart, lungs.
- A tumor in the lumbar region is dangerous, as the first signs and symptoms of spinal cancer in this region resemble those of rheumatoid arthritis.
- The oncological process developing in the sacral region is no less dangerous, as the possibility of paralysis of the lower extremities is likely.
According to the characteristics of the tumor, the following types of cancer are distinguished:
- Chondrosarcoma of the spine is the most common type of spine cancer. It is formed from the intervertebral cartilage and is localized in the lumbar or sacral region. Often occurs in men after 40 years. Unfortunately, this type of cancer is incurable, and therapy is reduced to suppressing the growth and activity of the tumor.
- Osteogenic sarcoma develops inside the vertebrae. Its characteristic feature is the rapid development and rapid metastases of nearby organs. With timely diagnosis, it responds well to treatment.
- Myeloma is a cancer of the bone marrow that also affects the nerve tissue of the spine. Most often localized in the thoracic spine.
- Chondroma - characterized by high aggressiveness, often affects nearby soft tissues. Location - lumbar.
- Ewing's sarcoma is a cancer of the bone marrow that is often diagnosed in children under the age of 18.
- Plasmacytoma is a multiple myeloma that has a better prognosis for recovery.
Often the tumor occurs in the lumbar or thoracic regionspine. The cervical region is much less often affected, as well as the sacral. In all cases, a cancerous tumor is prone to metastasis to nearby organs.
Stages of disease
Signs and symptoms of spinal cancer largely depend on the stage of the disease. There are 4 of them:
- At the first stage, the tumor is just beginning to form, it does not yet have characteristic symptoms by which it can be identified. This makes it difficult to diagnose at this stage of development. If it is nevertheless detected, then the treatment is successful in 90% of cases.
- The second stage is characterized by the growth of the tumor and its germination into the surrounding tissues. With timely therapy, the success of the event is 70%.
- The third stage is manifested by the appearance of characteristic symptoms and the occurrence of metastases in closely spaced organs. At the same time, the size of the tumor also increases. Treatment is successful in 30% of cases.
- The fourth stage is manifested in multiple metastasis to distant organs, a large tumor size. Unfortunately, stage 4 spinal cancer is incurable. Therefore, therapy is reduced to alleviating the symptoms and general condition.
It is impossible to say exactly how long it will take for a tumor from the first stage to reach the next. This largely depends on its variety, the specific person, as well as on the diagnosis, which leads to timely treatment.
Symptoms
As we already know, spinal cancer begins to appear withsecond stage of the disease. At the same time, a person feels the following symptoms and manifestations of spinal cancer:
- Pain that most often occurs in the morning. They signal that the tumor has touched the nerve fibers.
- Curvature of the spine at the location of the neoplasm. Such neoplasms lead to the appearance of an intervertebral hernia.
- Neuralgia or even complete paralysis, if the tumor is located in the cervical spine, can signal blockage and destruction of nerve fibers.
- Violations of the functions of the internal organs, near which the neoplasm is located. In the cervical spine - this is the brain, in the thoracic - the heart and lungs, in the lumbar there is a violation of the motor function of the lower extremities, in the sacral it threatens with defecation problems, urinary incontinence and sexual dysfunction.
At the last stage, when the tumor collapses, a person feels the following symptoms:
- Cancer intoxication, or poisoning of the body with tumor decay products. It is characterized by headache, nausea, frequent vomiting, problems with defecation. A grayish skin tone appears.
- Sharp pain, which is very difficult to stop, in the area of tumor formation.
- Aversion to food with retching resulting in emaciation.
In addition, when metastasizing to internal organs, specific symptoms of concomitant diseases appear.
Diagnosis
In order to establish an accurate diagnosis, it is recommended to contact the relevant specialists. How to identify spinal cancer? The following symptoms should alert doctors:
- rapid weight loss;
- pain in the lower back when bending over or in other parts of the spine;
- lack of vitality;
- sleep disorders.
The following methods are currently used to diagnose cancer:
- Magnetic resonance or computed tomography.
- X-ray of spinal cancer will help determine the location of the tumor.
- Fine-needle biopsy for bone marrow damage. It will help determine which tumors are malignant and which are benign.
- Histological examination of tissues taken during the biopsy process for the detection of malignant cells.
Can blood tests detect cancer? To do this, in combination with other studies, a blood test is carried out for oncomarkers - specific antibodies that are formed in the physiological fluid in this disease.
They can show the presence of an oncological process in the body. Is it possible to determine cancer by blood tests, guided only by their results? No, unfortunately, tests for tumor markers are sometimes wrong if their blood levels are not high enough. It is for this reason that the diagnosis of the disease should be carried out in a complex manner with consultations of oncologists and related narrow specialists.
Principlestherapy
Various symptoms and manifestations of spinal cancer, which indicate the presence of the disease, require diagnosis and treatment. At the same time, it is assigned taking into account the following factors:
- zone of tumor formation;
- neoplasm size;
- stage of disease development;
- presence or absence of metastasis to internal organs;
- age of patient;
- general condition of the patient's body;
- History of chronic disease.
Special conditions such as pregnancy or recent surgery also count.
Chemotherapy
If the symptoms of the disease, as well as the results of the examination indicate that the patient has an oncological disease, then the treatment should be comprehensive. The first step is chemotherapy for spinal cancer, which is aimed at suppressing the growth of cancer cells and destroying them.
The essence of drugs for chemotherapy is that toxic and poisonous substances are introduced into the body that negatively affect cells. Unfortunately, along with cancerous ones, they also damage he althy ones, which explains the poor he alth of patients undergoing treatment. For the same reason, there are categories of cancer patients who are not indicated for chemotherapy. Contraindications may be as follows:
- pregnancy;
- if there is a very strong depletion of the body;
- decompensated diabetes mellitus;
- anemia;
- allergic reactions to drug components;
- certain mental disorders.
Chemotherapy is not the main treatment for spinal cancer, but only an auxiliary one. Since it has many side effects, which include nausea and vomiting, a person is shown taking antiemetic drugs before starting the procedure. Unfortunately, such treatment is far from harmless, so the patient may experience such side effects:
- headache;
- nosebleeds due to mucosal lesions;
- exacerbation of chronic diseases;
- weakening of the immune system, as a result of which a person becomes more susceptible to viral and bacteriological diseases.
Also, many patients report hair loss.
Radiation therapy
This form of cancer treatment is often used at those stages of the disease that are characterized by the appearance of metastasis to the internal organs. It is also effective in localizing a neoplasm in a hard-to-reach place, which is difficult to reach during a surgical operation. In addition, it is noted that in the terminal stage of cancer, this form of treatment also helps to stop back pain when bending over and other pain that is associated with the disease.
As with chemotherapy, the following are absolute contraindications:
- pregnancy;
- exhaustion of the body;
- intoxication caused by the process of tumor decay;
- presence of infectious diseases;
- violation of the integrity of the skin in the area of therapy.
Modern equipment allows you to control the intensity of radiation, which minimizes the negative impact on nearby internal organs and soft tissues.
Conservative treatment
This therapy is not the main treatment for cancer, but it is aimed at minimizing the discomfort or pain that accompanies oncology. At the same time, such treatment is also prescribed if there are secondary diseases caused by metastasis to internal organs or when an infection is connected.
Conservative treatment is as follows:
- Painkillers that can stop severe pain, such as "Tramadol", "Morphine", "Dionin". They are sold strictly by prescription.
- Antiemetic drugs that may be useful during chemotherapy, such as Ondansetron, Granisetron, Metoclopramide.
- Immunomodulators to improve immunity, as it is significantly suppressed by aggressive treatment. Often, drugs such as Galavit, Roncoleukin, Neovir are used.
- Vitamin complexes to maintain immunity.
In some cases, hormonal drugs may be used if the tumor is one of thosespecies that respond to it.
Surgery
Unfortunately, removal of a spinal tumor is not available to doctors in all cases. Since neoplasms are removed with excision of he althy tissue by about 3-5 cm, and the ridge does not allow this, some tumors are considered inoperable. For such cancer patients, a different treatment is selected.
If the tumor is still subject to surgical removal, then the operation is performed under general anesthesia. During this, the surgeon excised the affected tissue. Unfortunately, such operations are considered quite dangerous, since there is a possibility of hurting the nerve endings and bone marrow. Such a medical error can lead to paralysis of the body below the location of the formation.
Difficulty appears if the tumor is localized in the bone tissue. In this case, the affected bone can be replaced with a donor bone (often the patient's own ilium is used) or with metal implants. In this case, the cost of the operation increases significantly, and with it the chances of the patient's recovery.
The recovery process after surgery is also lengthy. During this, the patient may be prohibited from sitting, making sudden movements and even bending over. There may also be pain, which is stopped by taking analgesics.
Forecast
Unfortunately, the prognosis for spinal metastases is not always good. The success of treatment directly depends on the early setting of the correctdiagnosis, as well as determining the type of tumor. Also, a positive result of treatment can be at a young age and in the absence of concomitant chronic diseases.
Five-year survival rates between ages 20 and 45 are between 50% and 90%, depending on the stage of cancer at which the disease was discovered and treatment started. Between the ages of 45 and 55, the percentage decreases to between 29 and 70%. If the age of the patient exceeds 55 years, then the statistics indicate data from 20 to 50% of survivors within 5 years. Much depends on the location of the tumor, the correctness of the prescribed treatment, as well as the individual characteristics of the body of a particular patient.
It should also be noted that, as such, there is no prevention of spinal cancer, however, it is possible to minimize the risks with regular moderate physical exertion, the absence of hypothermia and injuries.
