Types of Bone Cancer

Bone cancer can be classified into several different types, including benign, malignant, primary, and secondary. Benign bone tumors are more common than malignant tumors. Although both bone cancer types may grow and compress healthy bone tissue and absorb or replace it with abnormal tissue, benign tumors do not spread and are rarely life threatening.

Types of Bone Cancer: An Introduction

There are several different kinds of bone cancer, including:
 
  • Benign (noncancerous)
  • Malignant (cancerous)
  • Cancers that start in the bone (primary bone cancer)
  • Cancers that start somewhere else in the body and end up in the bone (secondary bone cancer).
     

Benign Versus Malignant

Bone tumors can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Benign bone tumors are more common than malignant bone tumors. Although both types of bone cancer may grow and compress healthy bone tissue and absorb or replace it with abnormal tissue, benign tumors do not spread and are rarely life threatening.
 

Malignant Bone Cancer Types

The three malignant types of bone cancer are:
 
Osteosarcoma
The most common form of bone cancer is osteosarcoma, which develops in the new tissue of growing bones. Osteosarcoma is commonly diagnosed in people between the ages of 10 and 25. Common areas where this bone cancer type appears include the:
 
  • Knees
  • Upper legs
  • Upper arms.
     
(Click Osteosarcoma for more information about this type of cancer.)
(Types of Bone Cancer Continued: Page 2)
Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
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