Primary bone cancer starts in the bones, rather than spreading (metastasizing) from other organs.
Bone cancer occurs when cells in the bone grow uncontrollably. Most bone tumors are found to be benign. However, benign and cancerous tumors develop the same way, pushing down on nearby healthy bone tissue, sometimes absorbing and replacing it with abnormal tissue. This malignancy destroys the outer layer of the bone and can invade the surrounding soft tissues and other bones.
Survival rates for patients with bone cancer have improved significantly over the past 25 years. In 1972, the five-year survival for patients with osteosarcoma was only about 20 percent. Today, patients whose disease has not metastasized at the time of diagnosis have a 60-percent to 80-percent chance of surviving five years or longer.
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