A giant cell tumor is a rare, non-cancerous growth that occurs at the end of a bone near a joint. Giant cell tumors can form in the legs, wrists, and hips of people who are in their 20s and 30s. Doctors usually treat giant cell tumors with surgery.
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Doctors define giant cell tumors as benign (non-cancerous) growths that occur on the end of a long bone next to a joint. They sometimes form in nearby soft tissue.
Doctors call these fast-growing clumps of cells "giant cell tumors" because of the way they look under a microscope. The tumors consist of unusually large cells because several individual cells merge into a single “giant” cell.
Giant cell tumors are aggressive and fast-growing. Even though they aren’t life-threatening, they can cause pain and damage by destroying nearby healthy bones.
Typical places for a giant cell tumor of bone to grow include:
Giant cell tumors are very rare. They only occur in one out of a million people in the U.S. every year. They're slightly more common in women than men.
Giant cell tumors typically occur in people aged 20 to 40.
There are two types of giant cell tumors:
The cause of giant cell tumors is unknown.
The tumors may begin to form when there’s a change in your chromosomes. People with overactivity of the parathyroid gland (hyperparathyroidism) may be more likely to get giant cell tumors. But doctors haven’t found an exact reason why some people spontaneously get giant cell tumors.
Because their cause is unknown, there's no way to prevent a giant cell tumor from forming.
There are no known risk factors for giant cell tumors. They're not inherited, and environmental factors, diet, and trauma don't seem to play a part in their development.
If left untreated, giant cell tumors can keep growing. Eventually, they'll cause pain and interfere with the movement of your joints. In rare cases, giant cell tumors can spread to the lungs.
Giant cell tumors sometimes recur after treatment.
The symptoms of giant cell tumors include:
If you have joint stiffness, swelling, or a painful bump under your skin, you should see your doctor. Since other health issues have symptoms similar to giant cell tumors, your doctor will have to rule out arthritis, stress fractures, and infections.
Your doctor will ask you about your health history, your overall health, what medicine you take, your symptoms, and your family history. They'll also do a physical exam, focusing on the area where the tumor is.
To diagnose a giant cell tumor, your doctor may run the following tests:
It’s important to treat giant cell tumors. Without treatment, they'll continue to grow and will eventually destroy healthy bones and impede movement.
Your doctor will likely want to cut out the tumor to prevent the tumor from further damaging the bone and coming back. Depending on the tumor’s size and location, you may need surgery, medicine, radiation, or a combination of all three.
Your doctor may recommend the following options, either instead of or in addition to surgery:
Doctors may treat some giant cell tumors with medicine when surgery isn't an option. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved pimicotinib, an injectable medicine for treating tenosynovial giant cell tumors.
This medicine works by targeting a special receptor on the giant cells, which decreases their activity. However, the tumor may recur after the treatment stops.
Giant cell tumors usually require surgery. Surgical procedures for these tumors include:
Treatment for giant cell tumor is usually very successful. Because these tumors aren’t cancerous, they rarely spread.
Your recovery time will depend on how big the tumor was, where it was located, and what type of surgery your doctor performed.
Giant cell tumors can recur, so you need to keep seeing your doctor for regular follow-up visits several years after treatment. Your doctor will take x-rays of the area where the tumor was to make sure it didn’t come back. They'll also take chest x-rays to make sure the tumor didn’t spread.
