13 December 2021, Monday

What is bone and soft tissue tumour?

A tumor or tumour is a lump formed in any living tissue, due to an abnormal growth of cells, which is visible or felt as a swelling, or is noticed on radiological imaging. A tumor can be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

Bone, like most other tissues in the body, is a living tissue and an abnormal lump formed in it is called a Bone Tumor, which may be detected either as a clinically visible/palpable swelling or on an X-ray or some other radiological imaging. As with other tumors, bone tumors can be benign or malignant. Also malignant bone tumors can be Primary (Sarcoma) or Secondary (Metastasis).

Tumors arising in the somatic soft tissues like muscles, fat, blood vessels, nerves, tendons etc. are called Soft Tissue Tumors. They again, can be benign or malignant. Soft tissues connect, support and surround other body structures. These somatic soft tissues and the bones together, give structure to the body, provide support and protection to all the vital systems and organs and also afford the function of voluntary movement. Thus bone tissue and soft tissues are parts of a large complex system.

Can a patient with Bone or Soft Tissue Tumor be cured of the disease?

Benign Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors are rarely life or limb threatening and in most cases are curable.

Malignant Bone or Soft Tissue Tumors are less predictable compared to benign tumors. Here the outcome depends on the diagnosis, stage of the disease and the response to treatment. Early detection, accurate diagnosis and the right and complete treatment is the key to a good outcome in malignant Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors.

For detailed answers to most of your medical queries, please read the sections under ‘Patient Information’. There are separate pages here on Malignant Bone Tumors, Benign Bone Tumors, Soft Tissue Tumors, and Bone Metastasis. These four separate sections cover these topics in excellent detail giving you all the information that you need. They have been designed in the form of Questions and Answers, which should make it easy for you to read the material. We would recommend you to read the entire section, rather than just specific questions. This should give you a complete picture of the subject. For those of you who would find the material too much to read, the information in the colored box under each question gives a summary of the answer.

Further Reads:

1. What is grading of the response to the Neo-Adjuvant Chemotherapy?

2. What is Limb Salvage Surgery?