A chondroma is a generally non-malignant or benign tumor, which arises from cells that make up cartilage. These tumors tend to grow fully inside the bone and may be called endochondroma too, or they may grow from the inside of the bone to the outside of it, in which case they are referred to as ecchondroma. Of these two scenarios, incidence of endochondroma is much more common, and endochondroma and chondroma are often used interchangeably. These tumors must be considered distinct from a condition called chordroma, where abnormal growths appear in the spine. The former are much more likely to affect bones like those in the hands and feet.
Though a chondroma represents an unusual growth, the condition is not thought to be cancerous in most cases. Yet, sometimes people will develop certain syndromes where they get multiple tumors. When this occurs, there is slightly elevated risk of the growths becoming malignant, in which case they are treated differently and termed chondrosarcoma. Most people who have a single cartilaginous tumor do not progress to having chondrosarcoma.
Chondroma symptoms may depend on area where tumors occur and the number of tumors that are present. Some people will be unaware they have one of these growths, particularly if they occur in areas that are not on the hands or feet. For instance, some tumors grow in the arm bones or thigh bones and may not be noticed unless a scan of these bones is done for other reasons. When a tumor does affect hand or feet, there is greater likelihood its growth will change appearance of the bone, and presence of a high number of tumors could dramatically change shape of hands or feet and affect function.
Unless a chondroma is suspected of being cancerous or is causing changes to shape or function of the part of the body on which it grows, there may be no treatment needed. On the other hand, sometimes doctors are uncertain whether the tumor is a chondroma or chondrosarcoma and they’ll elect to remove and test it. Alternately, continued growth of the tumor could be a concern and doctors might remove it to improve functionality of the area affected or to restore normal shaping to hands, feet, or elsewhere.
Provided the chondroma is truly a benign tumor, people don’t tend to require treatment beyond removal, though some doctors recommend some additional watchfulness after removal to make certain other tumors don’t develop. In other words, most people wouldn’t need treatment with things like radiation or chemotherapy whether or not they have this form of tumor removed. It may be more likely that an ecchondroma is removed than an endochondroma, because growth of the tumor is outside of the bone and has the potential to cause soft tissue damage.
