Clinical Prognosis of Osteosarcoma Disease

Osteosarcoma (also called osteogenic sarcoma) is a cancer of the bone that typically affects the large bones of the arm or leg. The University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center says osteosarcoma affects about four in 1 million people in the U.S. annually, most frequently developing in adolescents. Osteosarcoma is reported much more often in males than in females. The prognosis for osetosarcoma has vastly improved in the past few decades.

Causes & Risk Factors

• No one knows for sure what causes osteosarcoma but it's believed that adolescents who are taller than average and go through very swift growth spurts are more prone to the disease than other teenagers. The National Cancer Institute says in children and teens tumors usually form in the bones around the knee.

  When diagnosed in adults, osteosarcoma is frequently linked to factors such as high-fat diets, alcohol consumption, smoking and sedentary lifestyles.

Symptoms & Diagnosis

• The National Cancer Institute (NCI) says common symptoms of osteosarcoma are pain and swelling of a bone or in a bone region that never fully subsides. Other signs include limping if the tumor is in the leg and a bone fracture that is aggravated by a normal, everyday movement.

  When osteosarcoma is suspected an orthopedic oncologist may remove a piece of issue (biopsy) from the suspicious area. The tissue sample will be examined under a microscope by a pathologist who will determine if any cancer cells are present.

Treatment

• Treatment options for osteosarcoma will depend on the stage and location of the tumor and the overall health and age of the patient.

  Standard treatment includes chemotherapy treatment to shrink the tumor prior to surgery. The surgery will then remove what remains of the tumor. In the majority of cases the tumor can be successfully taken out during the operation while preserving the diseased limb.This is known as limb-salvage surgery.

  Chemotherapy treatment is usually administered again soon after the surgery.

Overall Prognosis

• Extraordinary advances have been made in the treatment of osteosarcoma over the last three decades. The only treatment available in the 1960s was amputation and no more than 20 percent of patients survived over 2 years following diagnosis.

  According to data from the National Cancer Data Base of the American College of Surgeons the overall 5-year survival rate today for osteosarcoma is approximately 54 percent.

Metastatic VS Non-Metastatic Prognosis

• The NCI says if the tumor is found in one location and has not metastasized (spread to other parts of the body) the cure rate is 65 to 75 percent. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS) when patients respond well to chemotherapy the percentage jumps to 80 to 90 percent.

  The ACS says the 5-year survival rate for patients whose cancer has already metastasized (spread) at the time of their diagnosis is about 30 percent.