It would seem that the bones, the skeleton - the most durable component of the human body. But in fact, bone tissue is also susceptible to disease, like any other. Benign bone tumors are one of the problems that can appear at any age.
Support
The human skeleton, strange as it may sound, is a passive part of the musculoskeletal system. After all, the bones, which in the body of a baby are about 300, and in an adult 207, are interconnected by joints, ligaments, muscles specially designed for this purpose and perform only a supporting and protective function, while it is the connecting elements and the nervous system that make a person move.. Benign bone tumors are one of the problems that can disrupt the functionality of this system, bringing pain, discomfort and impaired quality of life.
The most durable fabric
Bone tissue is actually a complex structure. It is multi-layered and multifunctional. The main component of this dense connective structure isbone. But the bones themselves are diverse in terms of functionality, size, and composition. They include the brain, endosteum, nerves, cartilage, periosteum, and blood vessels. Bone tissue contains various cells:
- osteoblasts carry out bone mineralization;
- osteocytes have the ability to maintain bone structure;
- Osteoclasts are responsible for bone resorption, that is, its destruction.
Also, bone in its composition contains collagen and minerals. The structure of the bone is porous, certain areas are called spongy bone, there are tubular bones, hollow. This structure of the bones allows them to be light and strong, to perform various functions: from musculoskeletal to the production of red and white blood cells. Any disease of the skeletal system must be diagnosed by identifying the type of tissue affected by disease or injury. So, if there is a neoplasm, for example, on the head, then an x-ray of the skull in 2 projections will help determine the pathology. This allows you to more accurately determine the size of neoplasms, their localization, the condition of the bones.
Bone neoplasms
Every person in his life faced a situation when a bump appeared on his head. In most cases, this happened after a bruise, dysfunction of the sebaceous glands, with the formation of so-called wen. Such formations do not affect the bone tissue, breaking only the soft covers. But bones are also prone to tumor formation, like any other tissue in the body. bone neoplasms,like any other that can appear in the human body, there are benign and malignant.
Science does not yet understand the mechanisms for triggering their growth, the reasons for cell transformation. It has already been established that damage to the DNA of a cell, its genetic material, is the basis of the changes that lead to the formation of a tumor. This leads to a change in the mechanisms of control over cell division and apoptosis. Scientists have identified factors that potentiate the start of tumor formation:
- biological factors, in most cases viruses, for example, human papillomavirus has been proven to cause cancer of the cervix, vulva, mouth;
- mechanical factors such as injury, damage;
- prolonged exposure to high temperatures;
- impaired immune system functionality;
- endocrine system dysfunction;
- physical factors, e.g. ionizing radiation, ultraviolet;
- chemical factors, in particular, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other chemicals of an aromatic nature that react with cell DNA, causing damage to the cellular structure and processes.
Undoubtedly, the causes and mechanisms of changes in the cellular structure that cause the appearance of neoplasms, including benign bone tumors, are constantly being studied, systematized, which helps to find new methods of treating such he alth problems.
After injury
Most often a person is faced with tumors resulting from a bruise. For example, a bump on the elbow after being hit with thispart of the hand on a hard surface is very painful. Formations such as a bump after a bruise appear in places where the subcutaneous fat layer is very thin or completely absent. This will be the elbow, and the scalp, and the forehead, and the front side of the lower leg, and the patella. A feature of the elbow and patella is the presence of a special articular bag filled with mucus, which provides adequate joint functionality.
In the structure of the elbow there is also a particularly traumatic structure - the olecranon, the most mobile and poorly protected part of the elbow joint. Therefore, a bump on the elbow resulting from injury is a common problem. Such a formation in most cases basically has a traumatization of the vascular system and mucous bag and is called bursitis. The bone is affected by the neoplasm in the event that the injury is very massive or the bruise is inflamed and the inflammation has passed to the bone tissue. In any case, injuries and tumor formation will require consultation with a specialist.
The same applies to those cases where a bump appeared on the head after a bruise. In addition to the possibility of inflammation, head injuries are dangerous with a concussion. But for bone tissue, neoplasms that affect its very structure are especially problematic; in order to establish the cause and nature of the tumor, careful diagnosis and differentiation by oncology are necessary.
Osteoma
Benign tumors are often manifested by formations such as osteoma. What it is? This is a neoplasmdetermined most often in the diaphysis and metaphyses of long tubular bones and on the bones of the cranial vault. Such tumors are divided into three types:
- spongy osteoma;
- solid osteoma, the body of which consists of hard plates of bone tissue, having a concentric shape and located parallel to the base of the formation;
- cerebral osteoma, a formation with cavities filled with medulla;
So if a bump appears on the head, then the specialist can make a conclusion about a bone formation called osteoma. Such a neoplasm is diagnosed with the help of X-ray examination and the clinical picture of the course of the disease. The tumor often does not cause much discomfort, and therefore can only be detected by chance.
Answering the question: "Osteoma - what is it?", It should be said that cases of malignancy, that is, transformation into a malignant tumor, of this bone benign neoplasm have not been recorded. Treatment of osteoma is carried out only in case of deterioration in the patient's quality of life, pain, or a large size of the tumor. Treatment is only surgical, with removal of the tumor. Observations have shown that after the intervention, relapses of the disease are very rare.
Osteoid osteoma
One of the varieties of a disease such as osteoma of the femur or other long bones is osteoid osteoma. It often develops in young people aged 20-30 years of both sexes. This is a rather unusual neoplasm of the skeletal system with its own histology. It is localized in the diaphysis of tubular bones, in flat bones and has a characteristic course. In the initial stage of tumor development, the patient develops quite strong painful sensations resembling muscle pain.
Over time, this symptom becomes more localized, and it can be relieved by taking analgesics. To a large extent, the pain of osteoid osteoma increases at night. If the tumor is located in the bones of one of the lower extremities, then lameness appears due to the inability of the patient to strain the leg. If this type of bone tumor forms on the bones of the spine, then the patient develops scoliosis due to the pain of the formation and the desire to alleviate the pain by changing the location of the body.
Such a neoplasm can be located on the surface of the bone - in the bone cortical layer or somewhat deeper - medullary, subperiosteal or intracapsular. Its structure has a concentric pattern:
- nidus (tumor nest) is supplied with a network of dilated blood vessels, osteoblasts, as well as osteoid substance and the so-called bone beams, which are immature bone tissue. Also in the tumor on the x-ray, you can see the central zone of mineralization;
- fibrovascular ring;
- reactive sclerosis zone.
The central part of the tumor - nidus - produces prostaglandins that cause pain. In order to completely get rid of such a bone formation, it is necessary to perform an operation to remove the lesion. You also need to remove a thin layer of scleroticbone adjacent to the tumor. Such a high-quality intervention leads to a complete recovery. But if the tumor is partially removed, then this will cause a recurrence of osteoid osteoma growth. No cases of transformation of this type of tumor into a malignant formation have been recorded.
Osteoblastoclastoma
There are tumors that affect the skeletal system, similar in appearance, but different in structure. These are neoplasms such as osteoma and osteoblastoma, or, as the latter is also called, osteoblastoclastoma. Experts consider such a neoplasm to be semi-malignant, because in many cases, as a result of inadequate therapy, the neoplasm becomes malignant, gives frequent relapses and metastases. This tumor is of three types:
- cellular has a structure in the form of cells with incomplete bone bridges;
- cystic - the cavity in the bone is filled with brown exudate. This makes the tumor look like a cyst;
- lytic with altered bone pattern due to the destructive action of the neoplasm.
In some cases, the tumor of the arm bone is just an osteoblastoma. A common location for such a neoplasm is the upper metaphysis of the humerus, the lower metaphysis of the thigh, fibula, tibia.
Like many diseases, the formation of this type of bone tumor at the first stage does not give any external manifestations. Only three months later, soreness and skin hyperemia appear at the location of the osteoblastoclastoma. If asuch a place is injured, then the pain intensifies. Pathological fractures at the site of its location are also characteristic of this type of tumor.
Osteoblastoclastoma is treated with surgery or radiotherapy. The latter method is most often used in the vertebral location of the tumor with a preliminary analysis of its nature. Surgical treatment can be both palliative and radical. Removal of the internal contents of the bone by excochleation is carried out only if the benign nature of the neoplasm is accurately established. Resection is used both in conjunction with graft replacement and without replacement of the removed bone or its section.
Hemangioma
It happens that a person from birth has a formation on the skin that is red and resembles a large fresh bruise - this is a hemangioma. But sometimes such a tumor is formed in the bones. It can be located in the spine, in the flat and tubular bones of the human skeleton. This is a fairly rare type of bone tumor that can affect both men and women equally. In the bones, such a neoplasm is a blood sinus that communicates with bone capillaries.
There are a lot of them, they grow and multiply, pushing and pushing the bone elements, which undergo osteoclastic destruction and a few reactive restorations of bone beams. Most often, bone hemangioma is located in the vertebrae or in the flat bones of the skull, in which there are blood channels. So thatif there is a bump on the head on the back of the skull, the specialist after the examination can make a diagnosis of "bone hemangioma".
Such a benign tumor is most often treated conservatively, since surgery to remove it is fraught with profuse bleeding. For the same reason, a biopsy through a puncture is not performed for this type of tumor. Treatment in most cases has a good prognosis, since the hemangioma does not degenerate into a malignant formation. But it should be remembered that the therapy of bone hemangioma will be quite long. If the tumor is in the vertebrae for a long time, then soft tissue growth is possible, which can cause rarefaction and partial destruction of the vertebrae.
Bone hemangioma can exist for more than one year in the patient's body, causing minor local pain that appears only with a long monotonous body position, such as walking or sitting. Such a neighborhood threatens the spinal column with sclerosis of the vertebrae affected by hemangioma and their compression. Treatment in most cases is symptomatic, aimed at reducing pain and unloading the spine. But with compression of the vertebrae, the patient undergoes a laminectomy (removal of the vertebral arch or part of it).
Exostosis
Another type of benign tumor is osteocartilaginous exostosis. This skeletal problem is seen in children and adolescents, although older people may also experience this he alth complication. superficial overgrowthbone or cartilage can be triggered by trauma, frequent bruises, or other factors; cases of congenital exostoses, for example, in the oral cavity, are also recorded. However, science still cannot fully explain the reason for the appearance of such bone and cartilage formations. Neoplasms can be either single or multiple.
They are often formed in the metaphyses of long tubular bones as a result of abnormal development of the epiphyseal cartilage, which grows not along the axis of the bone, but to the side. If such a formation occurred in childhood, then with the cessation of the growth of the child, the growth of the tumor also stops. Osteocartilaginous exostosis on palpation appears as a motionless, dense formation of a smooth or bumpy structure.
Such formations can be different in size. In some cases, bones affected by exostosis become twisted or stunted. The tumor can interfere with the adequate functioning of nearby organs - muscles, blood vessels, nerves. It is in these cases that treatment is especially necessary, which in the vast majority of cases is carried out with the help of surgical intervention.
Chondromyxoid fibroma
Benign tumors of bones - neoplasms of different structure and nature of development. One of the rather rare such neoplasms is chondromyxoid fibroma. In its location and effect on the bone, it is similar to chondroblastoma. Often such tumors appear in long tubular bones, while the cortical layer of bone tissue becomes thinner and swells, which forms a visible tumor. Chondromyxoid fibroma most commonly affects people under the age of 30.
At the initial stage of development, this type of neoplasm is asymptomatic for a long time, and is often found only during an accidental radiographic examination. In the picture, the fibroma is visible in the form of a focus of destruction, against which a trabecular pattern and petrificates are visible - focal deposits of calcium s alts. This type of tumor is treated with excochleation and bone graft replacement.
Osteochondroma
A benign bone tumor that can develop in humans more often than all other similar tumors is called osteochondroma. This tumor is formed from cartilage cells and is a transparent mass. Young people from 10 to 25 years old get sick more often, and in many cases this tumor is a hereditary problem. Osteochondroma of the rib, collarbone, thigh, and other bones is a cavity from the outer thin cartilage layer with spongy bone tissue, filled with bone marrow mass.
Such a formation can grow to an impressive size, as well as be both single and multiple. In rare cases, such a tumor can affect the spine, finger joints. But the chondroma of the head has never been fixed. A small osteochondroma does not bring any discomfort to a person. But its growth can cause both pain and discomfort, as well as disruption of the muscles and blood vessels.
The neoplasm is treated only by surgery - tumor resection is performedthrough an incision in the skin under general anesthesia.
Forecasts for life
Benign bone tumors are a fairly common pathology that can affect both infants and the elderly. Most of these formations have a favorable prognosis in terms of quality of life and malignancy. An exception here are cases of giant cell tumor, which is capable of rebirth. Timely detection and adequate treatment can avoid a serious deterioration in the patient's he alth.
Often, benign bone tumors do not cause much inconvenience to a person, and therefore are detected randomly during an X-ray examination. The treatment of these formations in the vast majority of cases is only surgical, in which the tumor is removed and, if necessary, the diseased bone or its section is replaced by a graft.
