Treatment for bone cancer is usually coordinated by a cancer care team headed by a medical oncologist. Specialists may also include an oncologic orthopedic surgeon, surgical oncologist, radiation oncologist and physical therapist.

After bone cancer is diagnosed and staged, a treatment plan will be recommended. Treatment methods are chosen based on the type, size, location, and stage of the cancer, as well as the patient’s age and general health. Common treatment methods for bone cancer include:

• Surgery. Surgery is often the main treatment method, depending on the type and location of the bone cancer. The goal of surgery is to remove the tumor and at least 1 inch of the tissue surrounding the tumor. When the tumor is in the pelvic bone, however, this amount of surgery is difficult because the tumor may be located next to vital organs that cannot be removed.
  
  Less common than they were a decade or two ago, amputations may only be necessary for certain situations. Pre-operative and post-operative chemotherapy have made limb-salvage surgery a possible alternative in many cases.
  
  Limb-salvage surgery involves removing large pieces of bone. When possible, surgeons avoid amputation by only removing the cancerous portion of the bone and replacing it with a bone grafts and/or metal plates to maintain structure and function in the affected area or limb. Patients may receive chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy before surgery to shrink the tumor. Depending on the site of the tumor and how much it shrinks, the physician can than determine whether limb-salvage surgery is possible.
  
  
• Radiation therapy. Radiation therapy uses precise high-energy x-rays to destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors. It may be used alone or in combination with surgery or chemotherapy. External beam radiation is the form of radiation most commonly used to treat bone cancer. For this procedure, radiation delivered from a machine outside of the body to the cancer site. Another form of radiation therapy used to treat bone cancer is brachytherapy (also called internal radiation therapy). In this method, small pellets of radioactive material are inserted directly into the cancer. It may be used alone or in combination with external beam radiation.
  
  Radiation therapy is occasionally used as the primary method of treatment in some patients with bone cancer. It is most commonly used to treat Ewing’s tumors. All other forms of bone cancer are primarily treated with surgery or a combination of surgery and radiation. It may be ordered after surgery as adjuvant (additional) therapy to destroy small groups of cancer cells that may remain after surgery. Radiation therapy is also used in patients whose health is too poor to undergo surgery. In addition, it may be used to ease symptoms of the disease.
  
  
• Chemotherapy. This treatment method uses powerful drugs to destroy cancer cells. Given by injection, intravenously or taken by mouth, the drugs travel through the bloodstream and reach all areas of the body. It may be used alone or in combination with radiation therapy and surgery. Depending on the type and stage of the cancer, chemotherapy may be given as the primary form of treatment or as an adjuvant treatment to surgery. Chemotherapy may involve the use of one type of drug or a combination of drugs. When used to treat bone cancer, a combination of drugs is frequently used. Common drugs used to treat bone cancer include methotrexate (given in high doses in combination with calcium leucovorin), doxorubicin and cisplatin. Other drugs used to treat bone cancer include ifosfamide and etoposide.

After treatment, patients are encouraged to make healthy lifestyle choices. These should include quitting smoking, limiting alcohol use and eating a nutritious and balanced diet. In addition, patients may be required to have physical therapy. Frequent physical examinations and laboratory or radiological studies may be conducted to look for recurrence, or return of the tumor, or to detect side effects of treatment. Patients should report any new symptoms to their physicians immediately. Such symptoms may be a sign of recurrence or side effects of treatment or even a new, unrelated medical problem. When detected early, most local recurrences and many distant metastases can be successfully treated.

There are no known methods of preventing bone cancer.