What are the symptoms of sarcoma in children and how is it treated

If we talk about children, the most common sarcomas in them are osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma. In this, upper and lower limbs are most affected. However, sarcoma can affect any part of the body. Dr. Akshay Tiwari, Senior Director of Musculoskeletal Oncology and Cancer Care at Max Super Specialty Hospital Saket (New Delhi) said that there are more than 100 categories of bone and soft tissue sarcoma.

Symptoms of Sarcoma
In most cases of soft tissue sarcoma, there is painless swelling, whereas in bone sarcoma, there is pain in the bone along with swelling and in many cases it even leads to bone fracture. In children and youth who play, these symptoms are usually mistaken for injuries and diagnosis and treatment are delayed. However, it is said that if there is swelling more than 5 cm or there is pain due to injury and there is no improvement even after continuous treatment, then a specialist doctor should be consulted.

Diagnosis and treatment
If sarcoma is suspected, it is confirmed through X-ray, MRI, CT scan and biopsy. Keep in mind that the biopsy should be done at a center where there is a team of sarcoma specialists. If sarcoma is confirmed, in most cases surgery is performed and the tumor is removed and then reconstruction is done. This "organ salvage surgery" is the mainstay of sarcoma surgery today, and is only possible if the patient reaches a sarcoma unit early. Reconstruction becomes quite challenging in aging children as their bones are smaller and even more challenging due to abnormal growth of the limbs which leads to discrepancy in limb length. Depending on the diagnosis, chemotherapy and radiation therapy are also advised to the patients. Like other rare diseases, sarcoma is treated by a specialized multi-disciplinary sarcoma team with better planning.

What can be done to raise awareness about sarcoma?
Hospitals, patients' advocacy groups, NGOs, schools and colleges should create an environment to create awareness about this rare cancer. Parents and caregivers should be aware that children can develop bone cancer, which can be cured through limb-saving surgery and chemotherapy. Any swelling or lump whose size is larger than 5 cm i.e. the size of a lemon and which causes pain, should be considered as sarcoma and should be examined accordingly. If a patient is suspected of having sarcoma, he should be sent to a specialized sarcoma unit. For diagnosis, biopsy should be done only after sarcoma surgery because wrong biopsy can cause damage to organs. The good thing is that NGOs and patient support groups are working closely with sarcoma units, raising awareness among people and helping patients through treatment.