Essay On Osteosarcoma

Even though there is a multitude of ways to treat osteosarcoma, the most conventional ways to treat it are through combinations of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. It has been found that giving a patient chemotherapy before and after surgery is one of the most effective ways to cure osteosarcoma (1). However, in certain cases radiation therapy may be necessary. For nearly all cases of osteosarcoma, surgery is necessary. However, surgery alone is seldom successful because often times the entire tumor may not be removed. Even the smallest amount of left-over cancer cells can multiply to create a new tumor (7). In order to decrease the chances of this occurring, a surgeon will perform a wide excision; the removal of a tumor as well as the surrounding healthy tissue. In most areas of the body, such as the arms and legs, limb-salvage surgery is often performed instead of completely amputating the appendage. Among the most typical surgeries that patients with osteosarcoma undergo are …show more content…
As a result, doctors began treating patients with chemotherapy before and after surgery (6). For about ten weeks prior to a patient’s surgical procedure, drugs such as doxorubicin and cisplatin are given to patients in an attempt to shrink the tumor to a smaller size before the mass is removed (3). After surgery, patients continue to undergo chemotherapy for up to a year. Depending on how the person responded to the drugs they were prescribed before surgery determines whether they will resume taking the same drugs or be issued a new set. If there are still remnant tumor cells left over after surgery, a patient may undergo radiation therapy to ensure that all of the cancer cells are obliterated (4). However, radiation is not usually crucial in osteosarcoma treatment since osteosarcoma cells are difficult to kill through