Chondrosarcoma
How We Can Help You for Chondrosarcoma
The world-renowned orthopaedic specialists of Stanford Health Care have decades of experience treating people with chondrosarcoma (pronounced “KON-droe-SAR-koe-ma”), a type of bone cancer that forms in cartilage cells, the connective tissue that covers the ends of bones.
Our highly skilled multispecialty team of orthopaedic specialists and cancer experts develops a complete, compassionate care plan customized to your condition. The goal of the plan is to help relieve your symptoms, which may include a painful growth on the affected bone that limits movement.
In addition to relieving symptoms, your personalized care plan includes rehabilitation to speed recovery so you can resume your everyday activities.
In addition, Stanford patients with chondrosarcoma may have opportunities to participate in research studies of new treatment approaches not yet available anywhere else.
What We Offer You for Chondrosarcoma
- Center of Excellence for advanced care of chondrosarcoma and the full range of orthopaedic conditions.
- Nationally recognized expertise in treating all cases of chondrosarcoma, no matter how complex.
- Precise diagnosis including a complete medical history and physical exam plus use of the latest imaging technology, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, computerized tomography (CT) scans, and positron emission tomography (PET) scans.
- Team-based treatment planning that brings together orthopaedic surgical oncologists, physical therapists, and others to tailor care to your needs.
- Advanced treatment options emphasizing nonsurgical approaches such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. If needed, we also offer state-of-the-art surgical procedures performed by highly skilled orthopaedic surgical oncologists.
- Comprehensive support services including care coordination from diagnosis to treatment to follow-up.
- Active research program to develop new diagnostic and treatment advances to help people with chondrosarcoma.
Treatment for Chondrosarcoma
Chondrosarcoma is a bone cancer (sarcoma) that develops in bones and joints. Cancerous tumors form from cells that produce cartilage, the connective tissue that lines the ends of many of your bones. Cartilage also appears in other parts of your body, like your nose and ears.
Stanford’s Orthopaedic Surgical Oncology Program includes renowned surgeons who skillfully diagnose and treat this challenging condition. Our doctors are part of the Stanford Cancer Institute, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. This designation recognizes our doctors’ skill in diagnosing and treating cancer.
Our Sarcoma Program team evaluates your symptoms and recommends treatment, usually beginning with surgery, to remove tumors and destroy any remaining cancer cells. Our program also includes an integrated team of experienced orthopaedic physical therapists who provide expert rehabilitation care after surgery.
Our world-renowned orthopaedic cancer specialists deliver personalized care, including advanced tumor surgery, for complex cancers like chondrosarcoma.
Surgery
Nonsurgical Treatment
Surgery is the primary treatment for chondrosarcoma, as it is for most bone cancers. Surgery aims to remove the tumor and all cancer cells to prevent the cancer from progressing. Surgical treatments for chondrosarcoma include:
Surgery for Tumors in Arms or Legs
Sometimes, doctors must remove your entire limb to completely eliminate cancer. Whenever possible, however, our expert surgeons offer limb-salvage operations, which remove the cancer without amputation.
- Excision or resection: Stanford’s orthopaedic surgical oncologists use wide excision, a procedure that removes the tumor and a margin of cells around the tumor to ensure we get all of the cancer out.
- Limb salvage: Limb-salvage surgery enables you to keep your arm or leg while eliminating any tumors. A bone graft (endoprosthesis) replaces lost bone with healthy bone tissue from elsewhere in your body or from a donor. Learning to walk again with a bone graft takes about a year of rehabilitation.
- Amputation: If removing the cancer would leave you with poor function, your surgeon may recommend amputating (removing all or part of) the limb. Doctors plan surgery carefully to enable a good fit for an artificial limb (prosthesis). Physical therapy often helps people walk with a prosthesis within 3 to 6 months.
- Reconstruction: Surgeons perform rotationplasty to reattach your hand or foot after removing a tumor from your upper arm or thigh. This surgery reconstructs your limb to help preserve function. The limb may be shorter than before, or you may need a prosthesis.
Surgery for Tumors in Other Areas
If you have a bone tumor in your pelvis or jaw, your surgeon usually removes the tumor and part of the bone (excision or resection). If removing the bone isn’t possible, such as in the spine or skull, your surgeon may use a combination of these procedures:
- Curettage: For a low-grade chondrosarcoma, your surgeon scrapes tumor tissue out of the affected bone. Your doctor uses cryotherapy or bone cement to destroy any remaining cancer cells.
- Cryotherapy: Cryotherapy destroys cancer cells by freezing them with liquid nitrogen. Your surgeon pours liquid nitrogen into the hole from curettage.
- Bone cement: Your surgeon pours a special liquid cement into the hole left from curettage. As it hardens, the cement gives off heat, which destroys cancer cells in the hole. The solidified cement strengthens your bone.
- Surgery for metastases: If cancer metastasizes (spreads) to other parts of your body, you may need surgery to remove distant tumors. The lungs are the most common site for chondrosarcoma to spread. We work with our pulmonology (lung) team to plan your treatment.
What to Expect
After surgery, rehabilitation helps you regain your strength or learn new ways to move with physical changes. Rehabilitation after amputation or limb-salvage surgery can take six months to a year of hard work. Stanford’s experienced orthopaedic physical therapy team works with you and your doctor to guide your recovery.
Depending on your individual diagnosis, your Stanford team may recommend additional cancer treatments before, after, or along with surgery. Your doctors design a personalized treatment plan to give you the best possible outlook and quality of life. Your treatment may include:
- Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy uses one or more medications to target and destroy cancer cells throughout your body. Most types of chondrosarcoma aren’t sensitive to chemotherapy, so doctors mostly use chemo for rare types of chondrosarcoma, including mesenchymal chondrosarcoma and dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma. Your doctor may also prescribe chemo to reduce or treat cancer that spreads to other parts of your body.
- Targeted therapy: Targeted therapy drugs lock onto specific cancer cells to destroy or disable them. These drugs specifically treat cancerous cells, while doing less harm to healthy cells than chemotherapy or radiation do. Stanford doctors can perform genetic testing to understand if you have a type of chondrosarcoma that targeted therapy can treat.
- Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy uses high-energy beams to destroy cancer cells. Because bone cancer is deep inside your body, radiation beams don’t easily reach it, so it isn’t a main treatment for chondrosarcoma. But your doctor may recommend radiation if a tumor can’t be removed surgically (unresectable). Your doctor may also suggest radiation after surgery to destroy any remaining cancer cells.
Surgery is the primary treatment for chondrosarcoma, as it is for most bone cancers. Surgery aims to remove the tumor and all cancer cells to prevent the cancer from progressing. Surgical treatments for chondrosarcoma include:
Surgery for Tumors in Arms or Legs
Sometimes, doctors must remove your entire limb to completely eliminate cancer. Whenever possible, however, our expert surgeons offer limb-salvage operations, which remove the cancer without amputation.
- Excision or resection: Stanford’s orthopaedic surgical oncologists use wide excision, a procedure that removes the tumor and a margin of cells around the tumor to ensure we get all of the cancer out.
- Limb salvage: Limb-salvage surgery enables you to keep your arm or leg while eliminating any tumors. A bone graft (endoprosthesis) replaces lost bone with healthy bone tissue from elsewhere in your body or from a donor. Learning to walk again with a bone graft takes about a year of rehabilitation.
- Amputation: If removing the cancer would leave you with poor function, your surgeon may recommend amputating (removing all or part of) the limb. Doctors plan surgery carefully to enable a good fit for an artificial limb (prosthesis). Physical therapy often helps people walk with a prosthesis within 3 to 6 months.
- Reconstruction: Surgeons perform rotationplasty to reattach your hand or foot after removing a tumor from your upper arm or thigh. This surgery reconstructs your limb to help preserve function. The limb may be shorter than before, or you may need a prosthesis.
Surgery for Tumors in Other Areas
If you have a bone tumor in your pelvis or jaw, your surgeon usually removes the tumor and part of the bone (excision or resection). If removing the bone isn’t possible, such as in the spine or skull, your surgeon may use a combination of these procedures:
- Curettage: For a low-grade chondrosarcoma, your surgeon scrapes tumor tissue out of the affected bone. Your doctor uses cryotherapy or bone cement to destroy any remaining cancer cells.
- Cryotherapy: Cryotherapy destroys cancer cells by freezing them with liquid nitrogen. Your surgeon pours liquid nitrogen into the hole from curettage.
- Bone cement: Your surgeon pours a special liquid cement into the hole left from curettage. As it hardens, the cement gives off heat, which destroys cancer cells in the hole. The solidified cement strengthens your bone.
- Surgery for metastases: If cancer metastasizes (spreads) to other parts of your body, you may need surgery to remove distant tumors. The lungs are the most common site for chondrosarcoma to spread. We work with our pulmonology (lung) team to plan your treatment.
What to Expect
After surgery, rehabilitation helps you regain your strength or learn new ways to move with physical changes. Rehabilitation after amputation or limb-salvage surgery can take six months to a year of hard work. Stanford’s experienced orthopaedic physical therapy team works with you and your doctor to guide your recovery.
close Surgery
Depending on your individual diagnosis, your Stanford team may recommend additional cancer treatments before, after, or along with surgery. Your doctors design a personalized treatment plan to give you the best possible outlook and quality of life. Your treatment may include:
- Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy uses one or more medications to target and destroy cancer cells throughout your body. Most types of chondrosarcoma aren’t sensitive to chemotherapy, so doctors mostly use chemo for rare types of chondrosarcoma, including mesenchymal chondrosarcoma and dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma. Your doctor may also prescribe chemo to reduce or treat cancer that spreads to other parts of your body.
- Targeted therapy: Targeted therapy drugs lock onto specific cancer cells to destroy or disable them. These drugs specifically treat cancerous cells, while doing less harm to healthy cells than chemotherapy or radiation do. Stanford doctors can perform genetic testing to understand if you have a type of chondrosarcoma that targeted therapy can treat.
- Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy uses high-energy beams to destroy cancer cells. Because bone cancer is deep inside your body, radiation beams don’t easily reach it, so it isn’t a main treatment for chondrosarcoma. But your doctor may recommend radiation if a tumor can’t be removed surgically (unresectable). Your doctor may also suggest radiation after surgery to destroy any remaining cancer cells.
close Nonsurgical Treatment
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, device, drug, or other treatment. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may be eligible to participate in open clinical trials.
Open trials refer to studies that are currently recruiting participants or that may recruit participants in the near future. Closed trials are not currently enrolling, but similar studies may open in the future.
To learn more about the clinical trials we offer, contact [CT Coordinator Name] at [XXX-XXX-XXXX].
What Is Chondrosarcoma?
Chondrosarcoma
Our skilled orthopaedic specialists and cancer experts work collaboratively to diagnose and treat bone cancer, including chondrosarcoma.
Chondrosarcoma
Bone cancer
sarcoma