Bone cancer may be primary (arising from the bones, such as osteosarcoma) or metastatic (spreading to the bones from cancer in another location, such as the prostate or breast). Each type of bone cancer requires unique treatment, ideally from a multidisciplinary team of specialists. At NewYork-Presbyterian, our bone cancer experts have strong expertise in diagnosing and treating all types of bone cancer. They combine their skills and experience to customize a plan of treatment aimed at curing your cancer while preserving your form and function — avoiding amputation whenever possible and offering reconstructive surgery to restore limb function after a tumor is removed.
World-Recognized Leaders in Cancer Care
We are home to two of the nation's leading cancer centers: the National Cancer Institute-designated Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center of New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center (one of only four comprehensive cancer centers in New York State) and the Weill Cornell Medicine Meyer Cancer Center in Partnership with NewYork-Presbyterian.
A Team of Bone Cancer Experts
NewYork-Presbyterian is home to the strongest multidisciplinary Sarcoma Center on the East Coast and an exceptional team of orthopedic surgeons. Your collaborative team includes surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, oncology nurses, social workers, psychosocial support specialists, and others with extraordinary experience and compassion caring for people with bone cancer and their families.
Expertise Treating a Variety of Bone Tumors
Our doctors have experience diagnosing and treating many types of bone cancer, such as:
- Osteosarcoma, which usually arises in the arms, legs, or pelvis in people between the ages of 10 and 30
- Chondrosarcoma, which affects cartilage and is more common in middle-aged adults
- Ewing sarcoma, which typically develops in children, adolescents, and young adults
Personalized Bone Cancer Surgery
If surgery is part of your treatment plan, we'll speak with you about your options and customize an approach that works best for you, bringing in any experts you need to achieve the best outcome.
- Making inoperable tumors operable. Some bone cancers may be challenging to remove surgically. We sometimes give chemotherapy for several months before surgery to shrink a bone tumor and make it operable. This approach is called neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
- Limb-sparing surgery. About 90 percent of people with bone tumors in the arms or legs are candidates for limb-sparing surgery. NewYork-Presbyterian's cancer surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, and reconstructive surgeons are experts in these procedures and collaborate to perform these complex and innovative operations.
- Reconstructive surgery. If you need surgery for bone cancer, you may be concerned that removing the tumor will affect your ability to use the affected arm or leg. At NewYork-Presbyterian, your team includes reconstructive surgeons who offer the latest techniques and tools to restore limb function. These include allografts (the use of donated bone tissue to replace removed bone) and metal prostheses (rods inserted where the bone was removed, including newer expandable prostheses for children).
Targeted Therapies
At NewYork-Presbyterian, we perform genetic analysis of your tumor to identify the molecules are driving its growth and to match you with available drugs that target those molecules. Examples of intravenous chemotherapy drugs for bone tumors include doxorubicin, gemcitabine, docetaxel, ifosfamide, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, etoposide, and dacarbazine. We use these drugs alone or in combination, depending on the type and stage of your cancer. We give chemotherapy in NewYork-Presbyterian's modern infusion suites, which are staffed by oncology nurses with the skill, compassion, and experience to monitor you during treatment and ensure you are comfortable.
Clinical Trials for Bone Cancer
We participate in clinical trials to evaluate new approaches to caring for people with bone cancer. You may have the opportunity to take part in a clinical trial of a promising new therapy.
Supportive Care to Address All Your Needs
Our nutritionists, social workers, rehabilitation therapists, palliative care experts, and others will help you and your loved ones address the effects of cancer and its treatment — physical, emotional, and spiritual. We understand the burden that cancer can place on your life and the lives of your loved ones, and we do whatever we can to lessen that burden.
Specialists and Subspecialists in Every Area
NewYork-Presbyterian is known throughout the world as a leading provider of health care. As a major medical center, we can address all of your healthcare needs, such as co-existing conditions like heart disease and diabetes, and connect you with the specialists you need to meet those needs.