How long do you live after being diagnosed with bone cancer?
Understandably, it is one of the first questions newly diagnosed patients and their loved ones ask. Bone cancer is not always fatal, and most people with the disease recover and live healthy, fulfilling lives, particularly if the cancer is detected and treated early.
According to the American Cancer Society, this article will detail the five-year relative survival rates for different types of bone cancer. These figures are estimates based on people who have had bone cancer. They are not determinate as they do not account for individual circumstances, treatment pathways, and overall health. Relative survival rates cannot tell a patient how long they will live after their cancer diagnosis but can set expectations for the likelihood of recovery.
Bone Cancer: An Overview
Bone cancer refers to several types of cancers that begin in a bone in the body. While bone cancer can form in any bone, it is most common in larger bones, such as the pelvis, arms, and legs. Bone cancer is rare, and noncancerous bone tumors are more common.
Some bone cancers are more prevalent in children, and others occur more often in adults. Conventional treatments include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. Integrative oncology offers alternative therapy pathways patients with bone cancer may choose to embark on.
Bone cancer is separate from cancers that develop in organs or tissue and spread to the bone. This process is called metastasizing.
What Is a Relative Survival Rate?
Predicting how long a patient will live after a bone cancer diagnosis is difficult. One study found that physicians’ individual patient survival predictions are often incorrect – 45 percent by over six months and 18 percent by more than 12 months.
Instead, patients can use relative survival rates to better understand the likely outcomes of their disease and treatment. A five-year relative survival rate measures how likely people with the same type and stage of cancer will be alive in five years compared to people without cancer.
For example, if the five-year relative survival rate is 70 percent, people with cancer are 70 percent as likely to be alive in five years as people without cancer.
The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Database
Five-year relative survival rates are calculated using information from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, which is managed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The database contains survival information for around 30 percent of the United States population.
SEER monitors the five-year relative survival rates for several different types of bone cancer at three stages of development:
- Localized: The cancer has not spread outside the bone where it first formed.
- Regional: The cancer has grown into bones and structures in close proximity to where it started, or it has found nearby lymph nodes.
- Distant: The cancer has spread into parts of the body that are not close to the bone it started in, such as the lungs.
SEER’s staging system is distinct from MSTS and TNM stages (e.g., stage 1, stage 2, and so on).
Five-Year Relative Survival Rates for Bone Cancers
The following five-year relative survival rates are based on people with bone cancer between 2011 and 2017.
Osteosarcoma:
- Localized: 77 percent
- Regional: 65 percent
- Distant: 26 percent
- Combined: 60 percent
Ewing tumors:
- Localized: 82 percent
- Regional: 70 percent
- Distant: 39 percent
- Combined: 62 percent
Chondrosarcoma:
- Localized: 91 percent
- Regional: 75 percent
- Distant: 23 percent
- Combined: 79 percent
Giant cell tumor of bone:
- Localized: 87 percent
- Regional: 74 percent
- Distant: 42 percent
- Combined: 76 percent
Chordoma:
- Localized: 86 percent
- Regional: 85 percent
- Distant: 61 percent
- Combined: 79 percent
Some bone cancers are so rare that calculating an accurate five-year relative survival rate is not possible.
Navigating the Numbers
While the above numbers offer some information about how long patients live after being diagnosed with bone cancer, they do not show the complete picture. Individual survival rates depend on various variables and nuances, such as patient age, lifestyle, health, and the presence of other conditions. They also do not account for where the bone cancer originated, which can also affect a person’s outlook.
In addition, the above figures are not up to date. Medical technologies and treatment options advance over time. Therefore, today’s relative survival rates may be higher than in previous years.
What to Do After a Bone Cancer Diagnosis
A bone cancer diagnosis can be alarming, and feeling scared, uncertain, and angry is natural. However, recovery, health, and vitality are options.
At Brio-Medical, our dedicated team leverages an integrative approach to cancer treatment. Our proven protocols combine the leading edge in conventional and alternative therapies to deliver genuinely personalized treatments targeting cancer’s natural weakness. Always patient-centered, we treat each person holistically, catering to their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs.
If you would like to learn more about our alternative cancer therapies, please do not hesitate to get in contact. Our friendly patient care coordinators are happy to discuss your situation, concerns, and treatment goals. Schedule your consultation today.
References:
- Misaghi, Amirhossein, et al. “Osteosarcoma: a comprehensive review.” SICOT-J vol. 4 (2018): 12. doi:10.1051/sicotj/2017028
- Gloeckler Ries, Lynn A, et al. “Cancer survival and incidence from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program.” The Oncologist vol. 8,6 (2003): 541-52. doi:10.1634/theoncologist.8-6-541
- Kondziolka, Douglas et al. “The accuracy of predicting survival in individual patients with cancer.” Journal of Neurosurgery vol. 120,1 (2014): 24-30. doi:10.3171/2013.9.JNS13788
- Ferguson, Jason L, and Sean P Turner. “Bone Cancer: Diagnosis and Treatment Principles.” American family physician vol. 98,4 (2018): 205-213.
- Duggan, Máire A et al. “The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program and Pathology: Toward Strengthening the Critical Relationship.” The American Journal of surgical pathology vol. 40,12 (2016): e94-e102. doi:10.1097/PAS.0000000000000749
