Skip to Content
Show
The information here focuses on primary bone cancers (cancers that start in bones) that most often are seen in adults. Information on Osteosarcoma, Ewing Tumors (Ewing sarcomas), and Bone Metastasis is covered separately. Survival rates can give you an idea of what percentage of people with the same type and stage of cancer are still alive a certain length of time (usually 5 years) after they were diagnosed. They don't tell you how long a person will live, but they might help give you a better understanding of how likely it is that your treatment will be successful. Keep in mind that survival rates are estimates and are often based on previous outcomes of large numbers of people who had a specific cancer, but they can’t predict what will happen in any particular person’s case. These statistics can be confusing and might raise more questions for you. Talk with your doctor about how these numbers might apply to your situation. What is a 5-year relative survival rate?A relative survival rate compares people with the same type (and often stage) of cancer to people in the overall population. For example, if the 5-year relative survival rate for a specific type and stage of bone cancer is 80%, it means that people who have that cancer are, on average, about 80% as likely as people who don’t have that cancer to live for at least 5 years after being diagnosed. Where do these numbers come from?The American Cancer Society relies on information from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, maintained by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), to provide survival statistics for different types of cancer. The SEER database tracks 5-year relative survival rates for different types of bone cancer in the United States, based on how far the cancer has spread. The SEER database, however, does not group cancers by MSTS or TNM stages (stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, etc.). Instead, it groups cancers into localized, regional, and distant stages:
5-year relative survival rates for certain bone cancersThese numbers are based on people diagnosed with certain types of bone cancer between 2011 and 2017. For rates for some of the other more common types of bone cancer, see Survival Rates for Osteosarcoma or Survival Rates for Ewing Tumors. Chondrosarcoma
Chordoma
Giant cell tumor of bone
Some types of bone cancer are so rare that it can be hard to get accurate survival rates. If you have a type of bone cancer not listed here and you'd like to know more about your prognosis (outlook), talk to your health care team to learn more. Understanding the numbers
American Cancer Society medical information is copyrighted material. For reprint requests, please see our Content Usage Policy. BackTo TopWhat happens when cancer spreads to bone marrow?If bone metastasis affects your bone marrow, you may have other symptoms that are caused by lower blood cell counts. Your red blood cell levels may drop, causing anemia. Signs of anemia are tiredness, weakness, and shortness of breath. If white blood cells are affected, you may get infections.
How long can you live with breast cancer that has spread to the bone?The authors note that most people live for 12–33 months after a diagnosis of metastatic cancer in the bones.
Can metastatic breast cancer spread to bone marrow?Bone marrow is one of the most common sites of metastasis from breast cancer. Micrometastases to the bone marrow usually evade the systemic therapies used for the treatment of cancer and eventually lead to relapse later in the course of the illness.
What is the lifespan of someone with metastatic breast cancer?However, survival varies greatly from person to person. About one-third of women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in the U.S. live at least 5 years after diagnosis [7]. Some women may live 10 or more years beyond diagnosis [9].
|