What is Bone Cancer?

By Ayaan Qayyum, Founder and CEO

Bone cancer is a disease that attacks the skeletal system of the body by metastasizing off of another tumor in the body and into the bones. Learn more on how the rapid dispersion of bone cancer cells can cause serious damage in the body, and how such a cancer is a disease to look out for in people of all ages.

What are Bones?

Bones make up the basic skeletal framework of my body and your body. Our skeletal system is made up of 270 bones at birth and decreases to 206 bones at adulthood. Bones are made up of connective tissue that is “reinforced with Calcium and specialized bone cells” (“Bones”, 31 Oct. 2012). Our bones accommodate most of our body’s calcium supply and they also contain bone marrow, where blood cells and even stem cells are made. Muscles and joints pull on the bones and allow us to move. Without these three necessities, we would be restricted to rigid to no movement at all. Bones obtain their strength through their unique structure. Calcium—with the bone cells and other nutrients the body absorbs—constructs the most optimal way to deal with internal and external stresses. While the bone is alive and constantly being rebuilt, the same can’t be said for the performance of other materials under similar tests. Inside all bones is a fluid known as bone marrow, which produces both red blood cells and stem cells in the body. Red blood cells allow us to respirate through absorbing the oxygen in the air, and stem cells are a special type of cell that can become essentially any other type of cell for whatever purpose it is needed. The rate by which these cells are created is about 2 million red blood cells every second. This rapid division opens the possibility for cancers to emerge. How does the rate of division allow for cancers to emerge? To understand this, we must review the basics of cancer.

What is Cancer?

Cancer emerges when mutations interfere with the cell division process. These mutations, or genetic changes, mangle the cell to a point where it no longer functions as part of the body. Unlike normal cells, cancerous cells fight with other cells for resources and ignore the orders to stop its cell division process and perform cell lysis.

The stimulants of these mutations in the first place vary from outside sources to internal diseases. Harmful radiation is a culprit for causing cancer appearance and growth in the body, and so is the natural process of aging. Some of these cancers bundle up and form tumors, which are essentially masses that have the potential to break off and spread to other parts of the body.

Now that we understand the fundamentals of cancer, let’s discuss the properties of bone cancer.

What is Bone Cancer?

Bone cancer does not necessarily have to start in the skeletal system. Tumors from other parts of the body can metastasize and disseminate cancer cells to the bones. Bone cancer comes from gradual mutations that are created in the bone marrow—the body’s red blood cell making machine. As the cancer gets worse and worse, there may be a point where the cancer spreads to other parts of the body through other bodily systems. This can lead to the cancer cells growing into new tumors and can become highly fatal in a short amount of time. The stem cells inside bones are, to many scientists, the key to eliminating bone cancer from the inside. Tapping into the stem cells that are already being made holds the potential to turn the stem cells into whatever scientists need, through chemical signals. This would allow for the bone to build itself an army, as a means for it to protect itself. Although mastering this idea and process is decades away, we have the potential to revolutionize prevention and treatment in ways scientists of the past could only dream of reaching.

Sources

Department of Health & Human Services. “Bones.” Better Health Channel, Department of Health & Human

Services, 31 Oct. 2012, www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/bones.

“Red Blood Cell Production.” MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine,

medlineplus.gov/ency/anatomyvideos/000104.htm.

What Is Cancer? 4 Oct. 2019, www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/cancer-basics/what-cancer.