Bone cancer

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Survival rates

Cancer survival statistics tell you the percentage of people who survive a certain type of cancer for a specific amount of time. Cancer statistics often use a five-year relative survival rate. Relative survival compares survival among people with the cancer to survival among similar people in the general population. Survival statistics cover a large number of people who may be different from any one person, so they can't predict a person's odds of survival.

For bone and joint cancers overall, the five-year relative survival rate is about 69%. Survival varies considerably depending on the type of bone cancer and whether it has spread. You may see statistics based on these stages:

  • Localized: There is no sign that the cancer has spread outside the bone where it started.
  • Regional: The cancer has spread outside the bone to other areas and into nearby structures, or it has reached nearby lymph nodes.
  • Distant: The cancer has spread to distant areas of the body, such as to the lungs or to bones in other parts of the body.

For example, the five-year relative survival rate for chondrosarcoma is 91% when the cancer is localized, 71% when it is regional, and 28% when it has spread to distant parts of the body.

For Ewing sarcoma, the five-year relative survival rate is 81% when the cancer is localized, 77% when it is regional, and 41% when it is distant.

Studies also show much better survival for localized osteosarcoma than for cancer that has already spread.

Survival statistics describe large groups of people. They can't predict what will happen for any one person. If you want to know the survival rate for your bone cancer, talk about it with your healthcare team. Your care team can tell you about the prognosis for someone in your situation. Team members also know more about you and your cancer and can explain what may affect your personal outlook.

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Aug. 13, 2026

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  9. Cancer stat facts: Bone and joint cancer. National Cancer Institute. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/bones.html. Accessed Aug. 5, 2026.
  10. Bone cancer. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/bone-cancer.html. Accessed August 6, 2026.
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  12. Benign vs. malignant bone and soft tissue tumors. Musculoskeletal Tumor Society. https://www.msts.org/benign-vs--malignant-bone-and-soft-tissue-tumors. Accessed August 6, 2026.
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  14. Survival rates for osteosarcoma. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/osteosarcoma/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html. Accessed Aug. 7, 2026.

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