Understand your condition with clarity
Trusted, easy-to-understand information about bone and soft-tissue tumours — from benign lesions to sarcomas and metastatic disease.
Benign Bone Tumours
Aneurysmal bone cyst, enchondroma, fibrous dysplasia, giant cell tumour, osteoid osteoma and more.
Learn moreBenign Soft Tissue Tumours
Fibromatosis, ganglion cyst, lipoma and lipomatous tumours, schwannoma and tenosynovial giant cell tumour.
Learn moreBone Cancers
Adamantinoma, chondrosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma and osteosarcoma.
Learn moreSoft Tissue Cancers
Extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma, liposarcoma and synovial sarcoma.
Learn moreBone Metastases
Understanding cancer that has spread to the bones, and how it is managed.
Learn moreMusculoskeletal oncology, explained
Musculoskeletal oncology covers disorders of bone and the soft tissues — muscle, fat, blood vessels, nerves, skin and tendons. Modern care has transformed treatment from routine amputation to function-preserving surgery and complex limb reconstruction.
Benign tumours
Non-life-threatening growths of bone or soft tissue that may still need treatment.
Sarcomas
Malignant cancers arising from bone or soft tissues — rare but serious.
Metastatic bone disease
Secondary spread to bone from cancers like breast, prostate, lung, kidney or thyroid.
Symptoms that should prompt evaluation
Early recognition saves limbs and lives. Speak to a specialist if you notice any of the following.
Lump larger than 5 cm
Any painless or painful mass bigger than 5 cm, or one that lies deep to the fascia.
Persistent swelling
Swelling, limb weakness or paralysis that doesn’t settle within a few weeks.
Fracture from minor trauma
A bone breaking after a trivial injury can signal an underlying lesion.
Night pain or rest pain
Bone pain that wakes you at night or persists at rest deserves imaging.
Unexplained weight loss
Weight loss, fatigue or appetite loss alongside bone or soft-tissue symptoms.
Rapidly growing mass
Any lump that is enlarging quickly — over weeks rather than years.
What causes these tumours?
Most arise spontaneously, without a clear cause. Known risk factors include radiation exposure, certain chemical toxins, chronic lymphedema and inherited genetic syndromes such as Li-Fraumeni, NF1, Gardner, Werner, Gorlin and Tuberous sclerosis.
Children are more often affected by osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma, while adults more commonly develop chondrosarcoma and liposarcoma.
Where do they occur?
- 60%Extremities — arms and legs are the most common location.
- Spine, pelvis and other flat bones.
- Trunk wall, head and neck, and the retroperitoneum.
How tumours are diagnosed
A structured pathway combines clinical examination, imaging and tissue diagnosis to plan the right treatment.
- 01
Clinical exam
Detailed history, physical examination and baseline blood tests.
- 02
Imaging
X-ray and ultrasound, MRI for local detail, CT or PET-CT for staging.
- 03
Biopsy
Image-guided core needle or open biopsy with histology and molecular tests.
- 04
Metastatic workup
Bone scan or PET-CT once a sarcoma is confirmed, to look for spread.
Staging — the AJCC TNM system
Tumour size and depth (T), lymph node involvement (N), distant metastases (M) and histological grade are combined into Stage I–IV. This guides prognosis and the intensity of treatment.
A multidisciplinary plan, tailored to you
Care is planned by a team of orthopaedic oncology surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists and rehabilitation specialists.
Limb salvage surgery
Wide excision in over 90% of extremity sarcomas, with prostheses, grafts or flaps for reconstruction.
Radiation therapy
IMRT, SBRT, brachytherapy or intra-operative radiation, before or after surgery, for margin control.
Chemotherapy
Neoadjuvant or adjuvant regimens for chemo-sensitive sarcomas — osteosarcoma, Ewing, rhabdomyosarcoma and synovial sarcoma.
Targeted & immunotherapy
Newer molecularly targeted drugs and immunotherapies for selected sarcoma subtypes.
Key point: Early diagnosis and complete resection with clear margins yield the best long-term outcomes.
Recovery and long-term follow-up
Rehabilitation
Inpatient rehab transitions to outpatient physiotherapy and occupational therapy to restore mobility and function.
Surveillance
Reviews every 3–4 months for 2 years, every 6 months in years 3–5, and yearly thereafter, with imaging to detect recurrence.
Managing recurrence
If disease returns, further surgery, radiation or chemotherapy can still offer durable control.
High-volume, multidisciplinary teams achieve better outcomes
Survival, limb function and quality of life are all higher when care is delivered at a centre with deep expertise across imaging, biopsy, surgery, oncology and rehabilitation.