When you think about orthopedics, most people think about arthritis, bone fractures and joint replacement surgery. Another area of orthopedics that doesn’t seem to get much publicity is bone tumors. Bone tumors affect over 50,000 people every year in the United States.

A majority of bone tumors seen in patients are benign, meaning non-cancerous. There is a portion of the population however that will develop a malignant (cancerous) tumor. A tumor is lump of tissue that develops when cells divide uncontrollably. Bone tumors weaken the tissue and bone, sometimes even causing the bone to fracture.

There are four common types of bone cancer found in patients – Multiple Myeloma, Osteosarcoma, Ewing’s Sarcoma and Chondrosarcoma.

Multiple Myeloma is the most common type of bone cancer affecting the marrow of the bone. This type of bone cancer is typically seen in patients over the age of 50.

Osteosarcoma is second in commonality to Multiple Myeloma and is typically found in teenagers. Osteosarcoma usually affects the area around the knee, hip or shoulder.

Ewing’s Sarcoma is a bone cancer usually affecting people between the ages of 5 and 20. This type of cancer is usually found in the legs, upper arms, ribs or pelvis. This is a rare type of cancer typically treated with chemotherapy. If this is not effective, a limb salvage surgery is sometimes necessary.

Chondrosarcoma usually occurs in patients between the ages of 40 to 70 and affects the hip, pelvis and shoulder areas. This type of cancer is usually very aggressive and results in some sort of limb salvage surgery or even amputation, depending on the location of the cancer.