Osteosarcoma is a tumor that arises from bone. Approximately 400 new cases are diagnosed in the United States annually. Pain and swelling are the most common presenting complaints for patients with osteosarcoma. While any of the body's 206 bones can be affected, half of all cases occur around the knee. When osteosarcoma is suspected, the diagnosis is confirmed using x-rays, CT scans, and MRI.
Screening & Diagnosis
Since osteosarcoma can spread widely throughout the body, radiologic imaging studies with CT scans of the chest as well as bone scans are done as part of the initial work-up to evaluate how far the tumor has spread. In addition, a tiny piece of the tumor is removed by our surgeons to be examined by our pathologists who specialize in the diagnosis of bone tumors.
Treatment
Once a diagnosis of osteosarcoma has been confirmed, patients are treated with chemotherapy to shrink the tumor and to prevent new tumors from forming. Patients also undergo surgery to remove all areas of tumor involvement. Standard chemotherapy medications for osteosarcoma include cisplatin, doxorubicin, and high-dose methotrexate.
In our experience, patients with osteosarcoma have an 80 percent five-year survival rate when treated with chemotherapy plus surgery. However for the minority of patients whose tumors recur or whose tumors have spread to other areas of the body, other treatment strategies must be employed.
Treatment for patients with relapsed or metastatic disease is highly individualized. Treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy agents that may not have been used previously. Based on laboratory studies conducted here, we offer a series of innovative, disease-specific clinical trials for this group of high-risk patients.
