Show Notes
Bone sarcomas are rare, accounting for 0.2% of all cancer diagnoses, with around 200 cases diagnosed in Australia each year. The three main types differ by age and site: osteosarcoma (around 30 to 35% of cases, often in the arms, legs and pelvis, with peaks in adolescence and again in the seventies and eighties), chondrosarcoma (around 30% of cases, typically in adults over 40), and Ewing sarcoma (around 15% of cases, most common in children). Professor Fiona Maclean, an anatomical pathologist, describes bone sarcoma diagnosis as a pattern-recognition challenge made harder by rarity, noting that tumour type and stage are the two most useful pieces of information for a GP reading a pathology report. A/Professor Richard Boyle, an orthopaedic oncological surgeon, outlines the red flags, including unexplained deep bone pain and night pain, and the diagnostic pathway from X-ray through biopsy to multidisciplinary review. This is the story of Bone Sarcoma Part 1. Useful links: Australia and New Zealand Sarcoma Association: https://sarcoma.org.au/ Find a sarcoma specialist: https://sarcoma.org.au/pages/about-sarcoma/find-a-sarcoma-specialist Sarcoma guidelines: https://sarcoma.org.au/pages/sarcoma-guidelines Seeking a second opinion: https://sarcoma.org.au/pages/about-sarcoma/seeking-second-opinion Useful patient information: https://sarcoma.org.au/pages/about-sarcoma/patient-and-carer-sarcoma-information Our Special Guests: A/Professor Richard Boyle who is a Sydney-based orthopaedic oncological surgeon and head of the NSW Sarcoma unit. Professor Fiona Maclean who is an anatomical pathologist and professor from Macquarie University. Listen: This Medical Life podcast is available on all podcasting services and Spotify. Members of the RACGP are able to log the hours as CPD (Education) that they listen to the episodes under self record via Quick log. We invite you to help support us on our donation page. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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