Bone Cancer Center

Bone cancer is a rare cancer that forms in the cells of bones. Cancer that begins in the bone (known as primary bone cancer) is not the same disease as cancer that starts in another part of the body and spreads (or metastasizes) to the bone (called secondary bone cancer).

The National Cancer Institute confirms that primary bone cancer is rare, accounting for only about 2,400 new cases per year in the United States. More commonly, bones are the site of tumors that spread to the bone from another part of the body (bone metastases), such as the breasts, lungs, and prostate.

Types of Bone Cancer

A cancer of the bone (or soft tissue) is called a sarcoma. Primary bone cancers are sarcomas of the bone. Some common types of primary bone cancers are osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, and Ewing’s sarcoma.

• Osteosarcoma develops in growing bone tissue. It is most often found in children, adolescents and young adults between the ages of 10-25. In children, it occurs most commonly in the bones around the knee, as well as in the upper arms.
• Chondrosarcoma develops in cartilage (generally in the pelvis, upper legs, and shoulders) and occurs more often in adults over 50 years of age.
• Ewing's sarcoma develops in immature bone marrow tissue. Like osteosarcoma, it occurs more commonly in children, adolescents and young adults between the ages of 10-25.

Bone Cancer Symptoms

The most common symptoms of bone cancer are pain and swelling in a bone or bone region. Other bone cancer symptoms may include fractures at the site of the tumor, weight loss, fatigue, night sweats, fevers, and/or chills.

Bone Cancer Risk Factors

It is not known for certain what causes bone cancer. However, scientists have learned that a number of factors may increase a person’s likelihood of developing the disease. For instance, bone cancer occurs more frequently in young people who have had radiation or chemotherapy treatment for other conditions.

In addition, adults with Paget’s disease of the bone, which is a benign (non-cancerous) condition that causes abnormal bone growth, may be at increased risk for osteosarcoma. (NOTE: Paget’s disease of the breast, a rare form of breast cancer, is medically unrelated to Paget’s disease of the bone.)

A small number of bone cancers are genetically linked. Hereditary retinoblastoma (a rare cancer of the eye), for instance, may increase a person’s risk of developing osteosarcoma.

Bone Cancer Treatment

Treatment for bone cancer depends on various factors, including the location, size, type, and stage of the tumor, as well as your age, general health, and how long you have been experiencing symptoms. Some common bone cancer treatment options include surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy.

At Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), our cancer experts use many tools to help you fight bone cancer on all fronts. Here, we provide a powerful combination of traditional and new, innovative therapies.

Your care team will work with you to determine the appropriate combination of therapies, which may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Surgery for bone cancer can include excisions, limb-sparing surgery or amputation, joint replacements, reconstructive surgery, palliative surgery to relieve bone pain, and more. CTCA also addresses orthopaedic problems (such as arthritis and osteoporosis) that may occur alongside the cancer and requires a specialist's attention.
• Fractionated Dose Chemotherapy divides a powerful dose of chemotherapy drugs into smaller doses, administered over a period of several days. This approach exposes cancer cells to the drugs for a longer period of time, while also seeking to reduce the unpleasant side effects often experienced with larger doses.
• Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) is a type of three-dimensional radiotherapy. IMRT uses a powerful, advanced computer program to plan a precise dose of radiation in three dimensions, based on individual tumor size, shape and location. Remarkably, IMRT can allow for higher radiation doses than traditional radiotherapy methods, while limiting exposure to more of the surrounding, healthy tissue.

In addition to the therapies described above, CTCA enriches your care by offering complementary and alternative medicine therapies, such as naturopathic medicine, nutrition therapy, oncology rehabilitation, mind-body medicine, and spiritual counseling. Our goal in offering CAM therapies is to help you maintain a good quality of life during your bone cancer treatment.

At CTCA, we're in this fight together every step of the way.