Musculoskeletal Tumours

Musculoskeletal (MS) tumours are primary growths that arise from the bone and soft tissues of the body and limbs in the body.

They can be broadly divided into bone and soft tissue tumours. Each of these tumours can be either non-cancerous or cancerous. The medical term used for malignant MS tumour is "sarcoma ".

Cancer that start from other primary sites such as breast cancer, lung cancers, can spread to bones. These are known as bone secondaries or metastases.

What are the different types of musculoskeletal tumours?

Musculoskeletal tumours are subtyped according to the tissue from which they originate.

• Bone tumours are classified as osseous, cartilaginous, fibrous, recticulo- endothelial, vascular and unknown subgroups. Examples are osteoblastoma and osteosarcoma (osseous), enchondroma and chondrosarcoma (cartilaginous), fibrous dyplasia ( fibrous) , myeloma and Ewings ( reticulo-endothelial ), aneurysmal bone cyst ( vascular ) and giant cell tumour (unknown).
• Soft tissue tumours can arise from any mesenchymal or connective tissue structure in the body. Examples are lipomas and liposarcomas (fat); leiomyomas and leiomyosarcomas(smoooth muscle);fibromatosis and fibrosarcomas (fibrous tissue).

Primary malignant MS tumours are relatively uncommon. However, benign ones such as ganglions, sebaceous cysts, exostoses are commonly seen in the population.

There are about 700 to 800 soft tissue sarcomas and 250 bone sarcomas over a 25 year period between 1968 to 1992 in Singapore.

This works out to10 to 15 new cases of bone and 30 to 35 soft tissue sarcomas per year.

Unlike other forms of malignancies, which are common in older adults and elderly people. These sarcomas have a high incidence in childhood, adolescence and young adulthood.

The most common bone tumours seen in clinical practice are bone secondaries.