About Children's Bone Cancer

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Osteosarcoma, a type of children’s bone cancer, while rare, is the most common form of cancer occurring in the bone. Each year, it affects approximately 400 children in the United States, the majority in their adolescent years. Osteosarcoma occurs most frequently in the ends of long bones, such as the thigh bone nearest the knee or the arm bone nearest the shoulder.

Treatment for osteosarcoma often includes aggressive chemotherapy combined with surgery to remove the tumor. Other forms of treatment may include radiation, hormone or biological therapy, or amputation.

The two-year, disease-free survival rate for children with a primary tumor and no metastases (growths) is about 60-65%. Patients with metastases at diagnosis have an extremely poor survival rate, at about 10%. This means that out of the 400 children diagnosed with osteosarcoma in a given year, 140 to 160 will die within two years. If the child’s tumors have metastasized, their chances of survival are even less.

Osteosarcoma has one of the lowest survival rates for childhood cancers, due largely in part to the lack of available funding for research. Currently, the National Cancer Institute, the U.S. government’s principal agency for cancer research, allocates less than one percent of its budget to children's bone cancer research. Attention and funding is instead directed to more common cancers that affect adults in later stages of their lives, such as breast, lung, colon, and prostate cancers.

The Children’s Cancer Hospital at MD Anderson Cancer Center is leading the way in children's bone cancer research. In 2005, the Jori Zemel Children’s Bone Cancer Foundation established the first and only fellowship program in the world dedicated solely to children’s bone cancer research, the Jori Zemel Scholar and Fellowship Award. Under the direction of Dennis P. Hughes, M.D., Ph.D., recipients of this scholarship have made major advances in understanding and treating this disease. One day we will find a cure!

To learn more about osteosarcoma and other children's bone cancers, please visit:

Children's Cancer Hospital at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

American Cancer Society