What should you know about bone cancer? The team at WebMD, with Dr. Jabeen Begum overseeing, writes:

What Is It?
It starts when a tumor forms in a bone. It usually begins in one of the long ones in your arm or leg. As it grows, it kills normal bone cells and may spread to other parts of your body. Bone cancer is most common in children and young adults.

Common Types
Osteosarcoma, the most common bone cancer, usually happens to people ages 10 to 30 and most often starts in the arms, legs, or pelvis. Ewing sarcoma also is more likely to be in kids and young adults. It starts most often in the arms, chest, legs, pelvis, and spine. People over 40 are more likely to have chondrosarcoma — usually in the arms, legs, or pelvis. Cancers like leukemia that start in marrow — tissue in some of your bones — aren’t seen as bone cancer.

Rare Types
Other less common bone cancers tend to affect adults. These include giant cell tumors — which usually happen around the knees in young adults — and chordoma, which typically starts in the base of the skull or the tailbone. Fibrosarcoma is sometimes seen in older adults who have had radiation therapy for another kind of cancer. It’s typically found in the knees, hips, and jaw.

What Can Raise Your Odds of Getting It?
Your chances of getting one of these cancers are higher if you have a bone disorder called Paget’s disease. And cancer treatment, like high doses of radiation and some cancer drugs, may make you more likely to have it, too. It happens more often in children and young adults whose bones are still growing. But with chondrosarcoma, it’s the reverse — your odds go up as you get older.

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