Basic Principles of Neoplasms

Following describes approach to tumours of musculoskeletal system

Classification (Enneking)

Benign Bone Tumours

Latent Grow with individual & then stop with tendency to spontaneous resolution

(Non ossifying fibroma, Lipoma)

Active Progressive growth & excision leaves reactive zone with tumour

(ABC)

Aggessive Locally aggressive but does not metastasize & has tumour extension through capsule into reactive zone

(GCT & Desmoid)

Malignant Bone Tumours

I Low Grade

II High Grade

III Metastatic

– Intracompartmental

B – Extracompartmental

Staging of Tumours

Stage tumours

Locally

Systemically

Involves

Serological investigations

FBE

ESR

CRP

LFT (esp. ALP)

Ca, PO4

Radiological investigations

Local

X-ray

CT

MRI

Systemic

Bone scan

CXR (see mets down to ~ 1cm diameter)

Chest CT (see mets down to ~ 2mm diameter)

X-ray » Ennekings four questions

1. Where is tumour?

Flat bone / Long bone

Epiphysis / Metaphysis / Diaphysis

Medullary canal / Cortex

2. What is it doing to bone?

Erosion / Expansion / Cortical breakthrough

Fracture

Transition zone

3. What is bone doing to it?

Periosteal reaction

Continuous

Interrupted

Codman Triangle

Complex

Sunburst

Multi or Single laminated

Onion Skinning

Reactive rim

Sclerotic = Slow growing

Ill-defined = Fast growing (Permeative)

4. Are there any intrinsic clues to histological diagnosis?

Bone formation / Calcification

Soft tissue component

Radiolucent / Ground glass

Matrix is intercellular material produced

May be

Osteoid

Chondroid

Myxoid

Collagen

Osteogenic sarcoma » bone production seen

Chondrosarcoma » punctate calcification seen

Fibrosarcoma » moth-eaten, permeative lesion

Blood vessel tumours » bubbly areas in bone (incl. Telangiectatic OS)

Most tumours lie in metaphysis

Epiphyseal tumours are

GCT » most likely epiphyseal tumour in adult

Chondroblastoma » most likely epiphyseal tumour in child

Chondromyxoid fibroma (soap bubble appearance like ABC)

Clear cell chondrosarcoma (epiphyseal chondrosarcoma)

(Unicameral bone cysts & ABC may appear in epiphysis)

Diaphyseal tumours are

Osteoid osteoma

Osteoblastoma

Chondrosarcoma arising from previous enchondroma

Fibrosarcoma (or other reticulum cell sarcomas)

Eosinophilic granuloma

Ewings

Primary lymphoma of bone

Intracortical tumours are

Osteofibrous dysplasia (ossifying fibroma)

Osteoid osteoma

Intracortical osteosarcoma

Adamantinoma

Worthwhile considering in Differential Diagnosis of nearly all lesions

Fibrous dysplasia

Eosinophilic granuloma

Ewings

Tuberculosis

Neoplastic ossification

Via 3 mechanisms

Primary Intramembranous Formation

Produced by

Osteosarcoma

Osteoid Osteoma & Osteoblastoma

Direct deposition of pathological woven bone

Via intramembranous ossification

Enchondral Ossification

Produced by

Osteochondroma

Enchondroma

Synovial Chondromatosis

Enchondral ossification of pathological cartilage

Reactive Bone

Occurs adjacent to neoplasm

Formed by host osteoblasts

Other Imaging

With primary bone tumours plain XR & CT often most useful in telling type of tumour

CT scan & MRI if further information required

CT Scan

Best for assessing mineralization & bony details

Shows local extent of tumour

Intraosseous

Violation of cortex & extension into soft tissue

Shows areas that plain XR visualize poorly

Spine

Pelvis

MRI Scan

All cases should probably have MRI

Determines extent of disease

Medullary extent

Reactive zone & satellite lesions

Skip lesions

MRI is excellent to determine extent of disease (reactive zone) but often very poor in diagnosing type of tumour

Eg. Myositis ossificans appears benign on plain XR but appears very aggressive with significant surrounding reactive change (oedema) on MRI

Bone Scan

Very useful for determining tumour extent (medullary extent & skip lesions)

Useful to compare with MRI which may overcall

If multiple lesions found

Consider metastases (especially adult)

Consider other causes of multiple hot spots

Tumours that are cold on bone scan “MAGEE”

Myeloma

Aggressive tumours

GCT

EG

Ewings

Non-Tumourous conditions that may mimic Tumours

Osteomyelitis (esp Brodie’s abscess)

Eosinophilic granuloma

Subchondral degenerative cyst

Intraosseous ganglions

Metabolic Disease

Paget’s

Osteitis fibrosa cystica & Brown tumour

Post-trauma

Stress fracture

Myositis ossificans

Lab Findings

IgG in multiple myeloma

PSA in prostatic cancer

ESR

Nonspecific

Increased in infection

Significant elevation in Ewing’s, MM, lymphoma

Moderately elevated in metastases

Otherwise usually normal

ALP

Increased in Osteosarcoma & Paget’s

Biopsy

Principle is take adequate specimen without jeopardizing future operations

Prerequisites

  • Performed by surgeon who accepts responsibility for complete surgical management of patient
  • At site that can be excised en bloc at subsequent surgery
  • Tourniquet
  • Longitudinal incision
  • Traverse within anatomical compartment
  • Cut directly to tumour – do not undermine skin edges
  • Periphery of tumour most useful – centre may be necrotic
  • Confirm representative sample with frozen section
  • Haemostasis with tourniquet down
  • Closure in layers to minimise tumour spill
  • Drain used & in line with incision (can be excised en bloc with tumour)
  • Closed needle Bx 97% accurate, but dependent on sampling

Resection Margins

Intralesional Tumour removed in piecemeal fashion within lesion with high potential for residual disease – Benign lesions only

Marginal Traverse pseudocapsule & reactive zone is breached hence potential for leaving Satellite Lesions is high – Benign lesions only

Wide resection Intracompartmental & passes through normal tissue about entire 3D surface of lesion usually complete resection but intracompartmental Skip Lesion can be left behind – IA & IIA lesions only

Prof Peter Choong (St Vincents, Melbourne) – 3cm clearance in longitudinal plane, one anatomical margin in transverse plane

Radical resection Resection of all compartments involved with tumour – results in complete resection of lesion & any intracompartmental skip lesions

Careful imaging to ensure no skip lesions can ensure limb salvage with wide resection is equivalent to radical resection

Amputation can represent any of these resections depending on plane that passes through

Not necessarily adequate operation but method of achieving specific margin

Skip Lesions

These are lesions that represent local bony metastasis within compartment

Differs from satellite lesions as they lie outside reactive zone (zone of oedema on MRI)

Most common in high grade sarcomas

Develop through embolisation within marrow sinusoids

Age Prediliction for Tumours

1-5 Years

Osteomyelitis

Metastatic neuroblastoma

Leukaemia

Eosinophilic granuloma

Unicameral bone cyst

6-18 years

Unicameral bone cyst

ABC

Non ossifying fibroma

Ewings

Osteomyelitis

Osteosarcoma

Enchondroma

Chondroblastoma

Chondromyxoid fibroma

Osteoblastoma

Fibrous dysplasia

19-40 years

Ewings

GCT

Osteosarcoma (rare)

> 40 years

Metastatic disease

Multiple Myeloma

Chondrosarcoma

MFH

Tumours more prevalent in females

Most tumours are more common in males or have equal sex distribution

Exceptions are

Ganglions 3:1

Monostotic fibrous dysplasia 1.3:1

Giant cell tumour 1.5:1

Parosteal osteosarcoma 1.5:1

Desmoid tumours (aggressive fibromatosis)

Tumours & tumour-like conditions found in bone (Bullough text)

Bone-forming

Reactive or Post-traumatic

Reactive periostitis (parosteal fasciitis)

Subungual exostosis

Bizarre parosteal osteochondromatous proliferation (BPOP, Nora’s lesion)

Developmental or Hamartomatous

Bone island (solitary exostosis)

Osteopoikilosis

Osteopathia striata (Voorhaeve’s disease)

Melorheostosis

Benign

Surface osteomas

Osteoid osteoma

Osteoblastoma

Malignant

Osteosarcoma (osteogenic sarcoma)

Cartilage-forming

Reactive or Post-traumatic

Reactive periostitis }

Subungual exostosis } with cartilage (rather than bone) predominating

BPOP }

Developmental or Hamartomatous

Osteochondroma (osteocartilaginous exostosis)

Multiple osteochondromas (diaphyseal aclasia, hereditary multiple osteocartilaginous exostosis)

Enchondromatosis (Ollier’s disease)

Dysplasia epiphysealis hemimelica (Trevor’s disease)

Benign

Enchondroma

Juxtacortical chondroma (periosteal chondroma)

Chondroblastoma

Chondromyxoid fibroma

Fibromyxoma

Malignant

Chondrosarcoma

Chordoma

Fiber-forming

Reactive or Post-traumatic

Periosteal “desmoid”

Developmental or Hamartomatous

Fibrous cortical defect (non-ossifying fibroma, benign fibrous histiocytoma)

Fibrous dysplasia

Benign

Osteofibrous dysplasia

Desmoid

Desmoplastic fibroma

Malignant

Fibrosarcoma

MFH

Adamantinoma of long bones

Non-matrix-producing

Reactive or Post-traumatic

Epidermoid inclusion cyst

Ganglion cyst of bone

Unicameral bone cyst (simple bone cyst)

Aneurysmal bone cyst

Solid aneurysmal bone cyst (giant-cell reparative granuloma)

Developmental or Hamartomatous

Haemangioma/ lympangioma

Haemangiomatosis/ lympangiomatosis

Benign

Eosinophilic granuloma

Systemic mastocytosis

Giant-cell tumour

Lipoma (of bone)

Malignant

Ewings sarcoma

Lymphoma

Leukemia

Multiple myeloma

Solitary myeloma

Malignant blood-vessel tumours

Blood Vessel

Benign

Haemangioma

Lymphangioma

Malignant

Haemangioendothelioma

Angiosarcoma

Haemangiopericytoma

Metastatic lesions

Breast }

Prostate } 80%

Lung }

Thyroid

Bowel

Kidney

Other Tumour Like Conditions

Myositis ossificans

Brown tumour (occurring in osteitis fibrosa cystica from hyperparathyroidism)

Tumours within marrow

Ewings sarcoma

Multiple Myeloma

Eosinophilic Granuloma

Malignant lymphoma of bone

Metastatic lesion

Soft-tissue tumours

(see summary)