Survival for bone cancer

Survival depends on different factors. So no one can tell you exactly how long you will live.

Doctors usually work out the outlook for a certain disease by looking at large groups of people. Because this cancer is less common, survival estimates are more uncertain than for other, more common cancers.

Some of the statistics have to be based on a small number of people. Remember, they can't tell you what will happen in your individual case.

Primary and secondary bone cancer

Primary bone cancer starts in the cells of the bones. The cancer cells are bone cells that have become cancerous.

Most people who have cancer cells in their bones don't have primary bone cancer. They have cancer cells that have spread into the bone from a cancer elsewhere in the body. This is called secondary or metastatic bone cancer. So, for example, in breast cancer that has spread to the bones, the cancer cells in the bones will be breast cancer cells.

The statistics on this page are for primary bone cancer. Doctors also use the term bone sarcoma for primary bone cancer. On this page we use the term bone sarcoma. This is the same as primary bone cancer. 

About these statistics

The terms 1 year survival and 5 year survival don't mean that you will only live for 1 or 5 years.

The NHS, other health organisations, and researchers collect information. They watch what happens to people with cancer in the years after their diagnosis. 5 years is a common time point to measure survival. But some people live much longer than this.

5 year survival is the number of people who have not died from their cancer within 5 years after diagnosis.

Survival for all types and stages of primary bone cancer

There are no UK-wide statistics available for bone sarcoma survival by stage. These statistics are for people diagnosed between 2014 and 2016 for all stages of bone sarcoma in England:

• around 85 out of 100 people (around 85%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more

• more than 65 out of 100 people (more than 65%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more

Survival for different types of primary bone cancer

The statistics below are for bone sarcoma diagnosed in England between 2014 and 2016. They are from the Get Data Out programme from the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS). These are the most recent statistics we have that includes 1 and 5 year survival.

We have information about: 

• osteosarcoma
• chondrosarcoma
• Ewing sarcoma
• chordoma

Please remember that these statistics are for everybody diagnosed with each type of cancer. The figures do not take into account other factors that affect your survival, such as the stage and grade of your cancer, your age, where the cancer is, or how well treatment works. Your doctor can tell you more about your own outlook.

Osteosarcoma

More than 80 out of 100 people (more than 80%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more after diagnosis.

Almost 60 out of 100 people (almost 60%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.

Chondrosarcoma

90 out of 100 people (90%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more after they are diagnosed.

Around 80 out of 100 people (around 80%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.

Survival is better for people with chondrosarcoma starting in the arms or legs than for those with chondrosarcoma in the spine (vertebral) and hip (pelvic) bones.

Ewing sarcoma

Around 85 out of 100 people (around 85%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more after they are diagnosed.

Around 50 out of 100 people (around 50%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.

Survival is better for people with Ewing sarcoma starting in the arms or legs than for those with Ewing sarcoma in the main part of the body.

Chordoma

Around 90 out of 100 people (around 90%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more after diagnosis.

More than 65 out of 100 people (more than 65%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more after diagnosis.

What affects survival

Your outlook depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed. This means how big it is and whether it has spread.

Survival is also affected by where the cancer is in your body.

If you have chemotherapy before surgery, the doctors will look at your tumour to see how well it has responded to chemotherapy. If you have a good response your outlook is better.

More statistics