Osteosarcoma Stages

In cases of osteosarcoma, stages are not used to express the extent of the disease. Instead, most cases of osteosarcoma may be classified as being localized, metastatic, or recurrent. For people with osteosarcoma, staging systems are not used; however, it's still important to determine whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body (such as the lungs) in order to plan treatment.

 

Osteosarcoma Stages: An Introduction

Once a doctor has diagnosed osteosarcoma, he or she will then order tests to find out if cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. This would normally be called osteosarcoma staging; however, there is no staging system used to express the extent of the disease. The following article will explain how cases of osteosarcoma are classified.
 

Osteosarcoma Staging

Currently, there is no staging system for osteosarcoma. Instead, most patients are grouped depending on:
 
  • Whether the cancer is found in only one part of the body (localized disease)
  • Whether the cancer has spread from one part of the body to another (metastatic)
  • Whether the cancer has returned (recurrent).
     
The doctor will need to determine where the cancer is located and how far the disease has spread in order to plan the best osteosarcoma treatment. The following groups are used to categorize osteosarcoma:
 
  • Localized osteosarcoma
  • Metastatic osteosarcoma
  • Recurrent osteosarcoma.
     
(Click Osteosarcoma Treatment for more information about the treatment of osteosarcoma.)
 
Localized Osteosarcoma
In localized osteosarcoma, the cancer cells have not spread beyond the bone or nearby tissue in which the cancer began. In young patients, most tumors occur around the knee.
(Osteosarcoma Stages Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD