Bone cancer in children

This cancer is more common in teens and affects the ends of leg or arm bones, where the bones grow quickly. The bones near the knees and shoulders are most frequently affected.

Teens with bone cancer sometimes notice certain signs and symptoms, including bone pain and swelling. This pain can worsen at night or when teens are active. Our doctors use several diagnostic tools, including biopsies, to diagnose osteosarcoma.

Our doctors use staging systems to evaluate and explain how a tumor is affecting your child, as well as what that means for treatment options. Staging is based on:

• Grade: Doctors look at cancerous cells under a microscope and estimate how fast they expect the tumor to grow and spread. The grade can be high (fast-growing and spreading), medium or low.
• Scope: Doctors measure the size and location of the tumor. They look at whether the tumor has stayed in the bone or moved to nearby areas.
• Metastasis: Doctors look at where the cancer is located within the body. If it has spread to lymph nodes or further parts of the body, it has metastasized.

Our cancer center has the experience to treat this rare form of cancer. Our doctors recommend a treatment plan based on your child’s medical needs, expected side effects and other factors. Osteosarcoma treatments include:

• Radiation therapy: This therapy uses high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells. We may combine radiation therapy with surgery or use it alone for cancer in places that are hard to reach with surgery.
• Proton therapy: We are proud to help teens get this new type of radiation therapy here in Chicagoland. Proton therapy is very targeted and causes fewer side effects than other treatments. Read more about proton therapy.
• Surgery: Orthopedic surgeons handle bone cancer surgery. The surgeon’s goal is to take out all of the cancer while keeping as much healthy tissue as possible.
• Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy uses drugs, usually injected into a blood vessel, to destroy cancer cells. Learn more about chemotherapy treatment.

Doctors and researchers continue to study these cancers and develop new tests and treatments. These tumors usually start in the early teen years and can affect hip (pelvic) bones, ribs, shoulder blades and the middle of leg bones.

Teens may notice symptoms such as bone pain or swelling. They may also feel unusually tired or lose weight.

Our doctors check the tumor for every aspect and assign it a stage. The staging system accounts for the size of the tumor, whether it has spread to organs, and its likelihood to grow quickly or spread.

For treatment purposes, our doctors look at an Ewing tumor as either:

• Localized: Remains in the area where it started or within a small area nearby
• Metastatic: Has spread to farther parts of the body, such as lungs or other bones

Our doctors review your child’s status and work with your family to develop a treatment plan. The plan depends on the cancer’s stage, your child’s age and health, and the expected results of treatment.

Treatment for Ewing tumors includes:

• Chemotherapy: Administering medications into the blood is the most common treatment. The drugs move through the body and destroy cancer cells. Learn more about chemotherapy.
• Surgery: Your child may need a special cancer surgery (biopsy) to find out if they have cancer. If a tumor is found, the orthopedic surgeon often tries to go ahead and remove it. Sometimes, though, removal needs to take place later.
• Radiation therapy: This therapy provides an additional option and sends high-energy rays through the body to destroy cancer cells. Find out more about radiation therapy.