Chondrosarcoma

A healthcare provider will ask questions about your symptoms, including:

• When you first noticed them.
• If they’ve gotten worse.
• How they’ve affected your daily life.

They’ll do a physical examination and may order imaging tests or a biopsy.

Imaging tests

To diagnose chondrosarcomas, healthcare providers may order the following imaging tests:

• X-ray.
• Computed tomography (CT) scan.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.
• Positron emission tomography (PET) scan.
• Bone scan.

Biopsy

Your provider may refer you to an orthopaedist, a surgeon who diagnoses and treats conditions including bone cancer, to do a biopsy. Your orthopaedist may do different types of biopsies to remove tissue from a suspicious lump so a pathologist can examine the tissue under a microscope. Those types are:

• Fine-needle aspiration: An orthopaedist uses a needle and syringe to get the tissue sample.
• Incisional biopsy: They cut into the tumor to remove a tissue sample.
• Excisional biopsy: They remove the entire lump or section of tissue.

A pathologist will examine the tissue sample for signs of cancerous cells. If cells are cancerous, they’ll identify the tumor type and establish a tumor grade.

What are the grades of chondrosarcomas?

A tumor grade is a measure of how fast a tumor may grow and spread. Chondrosarcoma grades range from 1 (I) to 3 (III):

• Low-grade (grade I) chondrosarcomas: Also called atypical cartilaginous tumors, these tend to grow the slowest and are very unlikely to spread.
• Intermediate-grade (grade II) chondrosarcomas: These are slightly more likely to spread.
• High-grade (grade III) chondrosarcomas: These are the most likely to spread.