There is a great deal of research being conducted on bone cancer. Clinical trials and scientific studies are being conducted in cancer centers and laboratories by a number of medical groups. Areas of research for bone cancer include:

• Soft tissue cells. Researchers are discovering how certain changes in the DNA of soft tissue cells can trigger bone cancers to develop. In addition, scientists are working on ways to ‘silence’ certain genes that have been linked to bone cancers. This process can help inhibit the growth of tumors.  Genetic research is being used to develop new methods of diagnosis, new classification systems and advanced treatment methods.
  
  
• Chemotherapy. New chemotherapy drugs and drug combinations to treat bone cancer and other cancers are being studied, as are new ways to give the drugs. One area of focus is delivering chemotherapy directly into the artery that supplies the blood to the involved bone.
  
  
• Radiation therapy. New radiation therapy methods are being studied, such as when it is best to use external versus internal radiation on bone cancer and when to combine or sequence with chemotherapy.
  
  
• Immunotherapy. Experimental treatments aimed at boosting the patient's immune system to fight bone cancer are currently being studied. In one type of treatment, active immunotherapy, patients are given vaccines that might trigger the immune system to destroy the abnormal cells found in sarcomas. In passive immunotherapy, antibodies developed in a laboratory are used to destroy cancer cell proteins. Immunotherapy shows promise for becoming an innovative and effective treatment of bone cancer.
  
  
• Targeted therapy. There are certain proteins in cancers that cause them to grow. Researchers are studying these proteins and trying to determine how to block the action of these proteins to prevent cancer growth. The drug imatinib has shown some success in clinical trials.
  
  
• Related conditions. Researchers continue to study medical conditions that may develop as the result of bone cancer. Recent studies have found that children and young adults with sarcoma have an increased risk of developing blood clots in their veins. These clots can block normal blood flow and also can break loose and travel to areas where they can be life-threatening. Scientists are examining the link between bone cancer and these blood clots in both children and adults.