How is primary bone cancer detected?

Primary bone cancer is less common than other cancers. The disease develops silently, when detected, it is often at a late stage and the prognosis is very poor.

Primary bone cancer is cancer that originates in the bone-forming cells, chondrocytes, and connective cells of bone tissue. These cells divide and grow to form malignancies in the bone, which have the ability to invade surrounding tissues and metastasize to distant organs in the body.
Primary bone cancer usually occurs in places such as the tibia, femur, upper humerus, and lower radial bone.

Primary bone cancer develops in 4 stages:
Stage I: The cancer cells have only appeared in the bone tissue and have not shown any signs of spreading to other parts, it is also less harmful and has not yet been detected. mixed with other normal cells. If detected early and properly treated, it is not life-threatening. Stage II: The tumor is slowly growing but has not spread, confined to the bone. This stage, if detected and treated, has a good prognosis. Stage III: Cancer cells begin to appear in many different locations of the bone. Appears in at least 2 sites on the bone, but has not spread to lymph nodes and surrounding organs. Stage IV: Cancer cells grow rapidly and begin to metastasize from bone to other organs at a rapid rate and compete fiercely with normal cells causing pain to the body. This stage has a very poor prognosis.

To diagnose primary bone cancer based on clinical and subclinical symptoms.
Subclinical methods include:
X-ray: Is the first imaging method when the patient has signs of bone pain. On X-ray, you can see the picture of periosteal reaction, disruption of bone mineral loss... Computed tomography: Detects bone tumor, size, shape, exact location of tumor. MRI: In addition to detecting tumors, detecting invasion of the marrow or surrounding tissues. PET scan: Put a small amount of radioactive glucose into the blood vessels and when it travels and the blood moves to the bone, the image will be recorded by the machine to base the diagnosis of the disease Bone scan: Put a radioactive amount into the blood and they travel to the bone and are imaged with a scanner. As a method of early detection of bone cancer, bone biopsy: From the location of detection of the lesion, a cell biopsy is carried out to determine if it is malignant.

Bone scintigraphy is a method of early detection of lesions caused by primary bone cancer. From there, it is the basis for conducting biopsies and early detection of malignant tumors in the bone.
Division of Nuclear Medicine - Diagnostic Imaging Department of Vinmec Times City International Hospital provides Tc99m-MDP whole-body bone scan service

Advantages of bone scan method:
Bone scintigraphy method allows to observe the entire skeletal system in the body, with high sensitivity. It is the preferred method of first choice in all cancer patients at risk of bone metastases. Helps to evaluate the function of the entire bone system, evaluate osteomyelitis, detect primary bone cancer, and metastatic bone cancer that no other method can replace. Leading SPECT/CT machine system in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. Professional team of doctors with experience, in-depth and methodical training at home and abroad, many doctors with long years of experience in Nuclear Medicine. Primary bone cancer is detected early with bone scans. It is a method with many advantages compared to other imaging techniques. Bone cancer, if detected early and properly treated, has a high chance of cure, reducing pain and costs for patients.