Bone Cancer

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• No links available

Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Cancer that starts in a bone is uncommon. Cancer that has spread to the bone from another part of the body is more common.

There are three types of bone cancer:

• Osteosarcoma - occurs most often between ages 10 and 19. It is more common in the knee and upper arm.
• Chondrosarcoma - starts in cartilage, usually after age 40
• Ewing's sarcoma - occurs most often in children and teens under 19. It is more common in boys than girls.

The most common symptom of bone cancer is pain. Other symptoms vary, depending on the location and size of the cancer. Surgery is often the main treatment for bone cancer. Other treatments may include amputation, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Because bone cancer can come back after treatment, regular follow-up visits are important.

NIH: National Cancer Institute

Start Here

• Bone Cancer: Questions and Answers (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Bone Tumor (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)
• What Is Bone Cancer? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Bone Biopsy (Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Bone Markers (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Bone Scan (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• How Is Bone Cancer Diagnosed? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• How Is Bone Cancer Staged? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Stages of Ewing Sarcoma (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• What Are the Risk Factors for Bone Cancer? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Drugs Approved for Bone Cancer (National Cancer Institute)
• Surgery for Bone Cancer (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• Treatment Option Overview (Ewing Sarcoma) (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Treatment Option Overview (Osteosarcoma and Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma of Bone) (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Living With

• What Happens After Treatment for Bone Cancer? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
• What Happens After Treatment for Ewing Tumors? (American Cancer Society)

Specifics

• Bone Metastasis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• General Information about Ewing Sarcoma (National Cancer Institute)
• General Information about Osteosarcoma and Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma of Bone (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Metastatic Bone Disease (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons)

Genetics

• Genetics Home Reference: chordoma (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Ewing sarcoma (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Li-Fraumeni syndrome (National Library of Medicine)

Statistics and Research

• Cancer of the Bone and Joint (National Cancer Institute)
• What's New in Bone Cancer Research and Treatment? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Bone Neoplasms (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Osteosarcoma (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Sarcoma, Ewing (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Serum irisin associates with breast cancer to spinal metastasis.
• Article: The role of grade in local recurrence and the disease-specific...
• Article: Longer duration of symptoms at the time of presentation is...
• Bone Cancer -- see more articles
• Osteosarcoma and ewing's sarcoma -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• American Cancer Society
• Find a Cancer Doctor (American Society of Clinical Oncology)
• National Cancer Institute Also in Spanish

Children

• Childhood Cancer: Osteosarcoma (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Types of Cancer Teens Get (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• After chemotherapy - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bone lesion biopsy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bone tumor (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Ewing sarcoma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Osteosarcoma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Understanding Chemotherapy (National Cancer Institute) - PDF Also in Spanish
• What to Know about External Beam Radiation Therapy (National Cancer Institute) - PDF Also in Spanish