About the disease

Benign chondroblastoma is a disease, which attacks long bones. It is a tumor, which is locally aggressive and which considered to be very rare. It usually develops in immature cartilage bones. Benign chondroblastoma accounts for only 1% or 1.5% of all bone tumors. It usually develops among children or teenagers. The likelihood to develop benign chondroblastoma in adulthood is very low. Benign chondroblastoma is more common in boys than in girls, although the reason for that is not known. Most commonly, it develops in the femur, which is located in the upper part of the legs, or tibia, which is located right after the ankle.Femur is considered to be the longest bone in the human body. It helps person to walk, jump and do all kinds of motion, such as running, jumping, and swimming. Tibia is also one of longest bones in the human body and it also plays a key role in the walking function of a person. In extremely rare cases benign chondroblastoma affects other bones, such as flat or foot bones.

Benign chondroblastoma usually develops gradually and does not cause any considerable pain at the onset of this condition. Over time, pain in the leg increases until it becomes intolerable. It can last for several weeks or in some cases years before it becomes very pronounced. There can also be a lump, which can be felt at the sight of pain. A palpable mass can also restrict motions of a person in some cases not allowing him/her to walk for continuous periods of time or to play aggressive sports. Benign chondroblastoma is considered to be caused by genetic predisposition, although environmental factors can also play certain role in contributing to development of this disease in people who have predisposition to it. 

Symptoms

• Severe pain in the bone, not related to previous trauma or surgery
• Stiffness
• Tenderness
• Swelling
• Tingling sensation

Diagnosis

For diagnosis of benign chondroblastoma doctors use special imaging tests of the bones, which can determine if a person has bone tumor and what is the stage of its progression. CT scan and MRI can show if a person has strange lesions in the bone cortex, which can indicate the bone tumor.

Bone scan is usually used to confirm the analysis and determine the stage of a disease.

Complete blood count is used to rule out the possibility of an infection, which could be causing pain in the bones.

Treatment

Surgical resection is the most commonly used treatment for this condition. During the surgery a doctor performs curettage of the lesion where tumor has grown. After that a bone grafting is used to restore the normal bone structure of a person.Cryotherapy and marginal resection can sometimes be used in patients who are not subjects for open surgical resection, such as children or teenagers with certain health problems. Surgeon usually tries to resect as much of a tumor as possible to prevent its recurrence in future. Surgery usually has high recovery rates and is recommended for almost all patients with this diagnosis.

Authors: Dr. Nadezhda Ivanisova, Dr. Farrukh Ahmed