Leg cancer is cancer that starts in the bones of a person’s legs. This type of cancer may spread to other parts of the body, including the lungs. This type of cancer is less common than other types of bone cancer. Bone cancer can be either benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer). Benign tumors usually grow slowly and don’t spread. Malignant tumors grow and spread more quickly. They can also come back (recur) after treatment.
Doctors diagnose bone cancer with a physical exam and a medical history. They will check the area for a lump or swelling, and ask about any symptoms. The doctor will then order an X-ray of the area. X-rays can show whether there is a tumor in the bone. They can help doctors determine the type of bone cancer, how fast it is growing and its outlook.
If the X-ray shows that you have a bone tumor, your doctor will do a biopsy to find out whether it’s cancerous or not. The doctor will remove a small piece of the tumor with a needle or a cutting tool. The doctor may also take a sample of the surrounding tissue. The doctor will then look at the biopsy under a microscope to see if it’s osteosarcoma or another type of bone tumor.
There are three different kinds of osteosarcoma, based on how the cells look under a microscope. Low-grade osteosarcoma grows slower and the cells look more like normal bone tissue than those of higher-grade osteosarcomas. Intermediate-grade osteosarcomas grow faster than low-grade osteosarcoma and have more abnormal cells than those of the lowest-grade osteosarcomas.
Spindle cell sarcomas start in the bone tissue of the spine and sometimes grow into the bones of the legs. They are very similar to osteosarcoma and behave the same way, but they don’t produce the boney substance called osteoid that osteosarcomas do.
Chordomas are rare and start in the spinal bones of young and middle-aged adults. They are a very slow-growing kind of bone cancer and rarely spread to other sites.
Surgery is the main treatment for most types of bone cancer. In some cases, radiation therapy or chemotherapy is used with surgery to control the growth of cancer and relieve pain.
Doctors will use techniques to keep your arm or leg or both intact if they are able to do so. This is called limb-sparing surgery. If this is not possible, doctors will have to amputate the leg or arm. This is usually followed by rehabilitation, and sometimes by the need for a prosthesis.
A drug called denosumab (Xgeva) works by stopping the cancer cells from forming new bone tissue. It’s available by prescription and was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in adults and adolescents with fully developed skeletons. The drug blocks a protein that’s involved in the process of making bone cells. It can be given as a pill or an injection. It is used in combination with surgery and radiation for bone sarcomas that have spread to the lungs.
