 What are bone tumors and how are they diagnosed and treated? Bone tumors can vary in their severity. They can either be benign, such as the simple bone cysts found in our younger patients, to more aggressive ones that are found in adults. But these are lesions that can be locally aggressive, causing some bone destruction, but not causing any significant threat to life by metastasizing. And then you've got bone tumors that are there because they've spread there or their metastatic lesions from other cancers. So your orthopedic oncologist has to get the right imaging and get biopsy of the tissue to make a determination of what type of tissue and where it's coming from. If you're diagnosed with a bone tumor, what it really comes down to is whether that lesion requires any kind of treatment at all. A majority of time we can just continue to observe the patient and treat them symptomatically, meaning that if they have pain or discomfort, or if there's any concern about the integrity of the bone and the structure, we may have to treat the patient. So a majority of time we can just continue to observe them. However, there are times when we have to make a surgical plan to either go in there and scoop out the tumor and do some sort of bone fill in either with bone or other substitutes. Other times if a bone requires stabilization, we're able to stabilize it either with hardware such as plates or screws or rods. But it really depends on the type of lesion involved and which bone is involved. What are soft tissue tumors and how are they diagnosed and treated? Soft tissue tumors can vary in their severity. A great majority of these are benign, lumps or bumps is how we refer to them and can refer to things like lipoma, which are tumors of the fat. More malignant lesions are often referred to as sarcomas, and they are the same origin, either arising out of muscle or fat or connective tissue in the skeletal system. And the sarcomas, however, do require a multidisciplinary type of effort and treatment plan. Oftentimes they do require adjuvant treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation, including surgical excision and reconstruction by the orthopedic oncologist. What should someone do if they are diagnosed with a bone or soft tissue tumor? Someone found to have a bone or soft tissue tumor should go seek the consultation of an orthopedic oncologist. Once it's determined to be either benign or malignant, the appropriate course of action can be made. If it's benign, your orthopedic oncologist can lead you into a treatment plan, usually meaning observation and management of symptoms. However, if it is a malignant lesion, it usually requires the attention of a multidisciplinary team, a sarcoma care team like we have here at NYU Winthrop. What is an orthopedic oncologist and what is their role in the treatment of bone and soft tissue tumors? Orthopedic oncologists are orthopedic surgeons and specialists that deal with the management, diagnosis and treatment of both bone and soft tissue tumors. Bone and soft tissue tumors can mean benign lesions that are found on X-ray or MRI or it can mean something more serious like a lesion that is thought to be concerning like a malignant lesion or a cancer, either in the bone or soft tissue. What is a sarcoma and are there different kinds? The term sarcoma refers to malignant tumors of the soft tissue, such as muscle or connective tissue or even the blood vessels. These lesions or these masses can be very aggressive and spread to the lung and impact your life. Therefore, once we get a tissue diagnosis based on a biopsy, we often have a meeting with a multidisciplinary team to address what kind of treatments this lesion may be responsive to and plan adjuvant treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation in advance of surgery. There are many kinds of sarcomas and usually the differentiation between these is a tissue analysis by a pathologist. What is the role of an orthopedic oncologist in sarcoma care? An orthopedic oncologist manages the care of patients with both bone and soft tissue tumors and that can mean either benign or malignant tumors. The treatment options available could mean anything from observation to surgical excision to potentially surgical excision with reconstruction. And the goal of reconstruction would be to preserve the limb and the function and lifestyle of the patient. Tell us about the orthopedic oncology team at NYU Winthrop. Our multidisciplinary team here at NYU Winthrop includes myself as the orthopedic oncologist but includes also several other specialists that are very vital in the management and diagnosis and care of these patients. That includes our musculoskeletal radiologists who often times do the biopsies under image guidance. As well as pathologists who specialize in diagnosing these lesions. As well as surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists and medical oncologists that all play a very vital role in the management of our sarcoma patients. The benefit of having this multidisciplinary team is that all these specialists can come together and formulate a treatment plan for the patient based on the unique sarcoma that they may be facing. For more information on the orthopedic oncology service here at NYU Winthrop, please call us at 866 Winthrop or visit us online at nyowinthrop.org.