Sarcoma

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Survival rates

Cancer survival rates or survival statistics tell you the percentage of people who survive a certain type of cancer for a specific amount of time. Statistics can vary by sarcoma type, location, grade, stage, age and other factors.

Many people wonder about survival rates by numbered stages, such as 1 to 4. But the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), which tracks cancer survival rates in the United States, reports the rates by how far the cancer has spread.

The categories for NCI survival rates are:

  • Localized: The cancer is limited to the part of the body where it started.
  • Regional: The cancer has spread to nearby structures or nearby lymph nodes.
  • Distant: The cancer has spread to distant areas of the body, such as to the lungs.

Cancer statistics often use a five-year relative survival rate. This rate compares survival among people with the cancer and survival among people in the general population.

For soft tissue sarcomas, the 5-year relative survival rate is about 83% for localized cancer, 60% for regional cancers and 17% if the cancer has distant spread.

For bone and joint cancers overall, the five-year relative survival rate is about 69%. Survival for bone sarcomas varies depending on the type of bone cancer and whether it has 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 particular 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. 19, 2026

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Sarcoma Discussions

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  2. DeVita VT Jr, et al., eds. Soft tissue sarcomas. In: DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg's Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 12th ed. ProQuest Ebook Central. Wolters Kluwer; 2023. Accessed Aug. 5, 2026.
  3. DeVita VT Jr, et al., eds. Sarcomas of bone. In: DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg's Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 12th ed. ProQuest Ebook Central. Wolters Kluwer; 2023. Accessed Aug. 5, 2026.
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  8. Noebauer-Huhmann IM, et al. Soft tissue tumor imaging in adults: Whole-body staging in sarcoma, non-malignant entities requiring special algorithms, pitfalls and special imaging aspects. Guidelines 2024 from the European Society of Musculoskeletal Radiology (ESSR). European Radiology. 2025; doi:10.1007/s00330-024-10897-z.
  9. Soft tissue sarcoma treatment (PDQ) — Health professional version. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/types/soft-tissue-sarcoma/hp/adult-soft-tissue-treatment-pdq. Accessed Aug. 7, 2026.
  10. Ewing sarcoma and undifferentiated small round cell sarcomas of bone and soft tissue treatment (PDQ) – Health professional version. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/types/bone/hp/ewing-treatment-pdq. Accessed Aug. 7, 2026.
  11. Osteosarcoma and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma of bone treatment (PDQ) — Health professional version. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/types/bone/hp/osteosarcoma-treatment-pdq. Accessed Aug. 7, 2026.
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  13. Survival rates for soft tissue sarcomas. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/soft-tissue-sarcoma/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html. Accessed Aug. 7, 2026.
  14. Prognostic factors and survival rates for Ewing sarcoma. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/ewing-tumor/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-rates.html. Accessed Aug. 10, 2026.
  15. Survival rates for bone cancer. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/bone-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/survival-statistics.html. Accessed Aug. 10, 2026.
  16. Cancer stat facts: Bone and joint cancer. National Cancer Institute. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/bones.html. Accessed Aug. 10, 2026.

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