bone cancer | Prognosis and survival for bone cancer

• 
  

Prognosis and survival for bone cancer





If you have bone cancer, you may be wondering about your prognosis. A prognosis is the act by which the doctor best assesses how cancer will affect a person and how they will respond to treatment. Prognosis and survival depend on many factors. Only a doctor who is familiar with your medical history, the type of cancer you have, the stage and other characteristics of the disease, the treatments chosen, and the response to treatment can examine all of this data in conjunction with survival statistics. to arrive at a prognosis.

A prognostic factor is an aspect of the cancer or a characteristic of the person, as if it is smoking, that the doctor takes into consideration when making a prognosis.

The following are the prognostic factors for bone cancer.

Cancer spread
Cancer can spread from place of origin to other parts of the body. This propagation is called metastasis. Whether or not the cancer has already spread at the time of diagnosis is the most important prognostic factor for bone cancer. The presence of metastases is related to a darker prognosis.

Where cancer has spread is also an important prognostic factor. Bone cancer that has spread only to the lungs has a better prognosis than metastases in other parts of the body.

Location of the tumor
The tumor that originates in a bone in the leg or arm (distal tumor) has a better prognosis than the tumor that appears in a pelvic, thoracic, skull or spine bone (proximal tumor), possibly be because tumors to the arms and legs are easier to remove completely by surgery. Tumors in the chest, pelvis or spine are usually detected later, they are often larger and closer to important organs. These factors make it more difficult to remove them completely by surgery.

Tumor grade
The low-grade tumor produces a better prognosis than the high-grade tumor.

Size of the tumor
Cancerous bone tumors that measure less than 8 cm have a better prognosis than tumors that are greater than 8 cm.

Age
A person who is diagnosed with bone cancer while under 40 has a better prognosis than someone who is over 40 years old.

Reaction to chemotherapy before surgery
Chemotherapy given before surgery is neoadjuvant chemotherapy. It is used to reduce the size of the tumor to make it easier to remove. It is often given to treat osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer. The extent of tumor reduction related to chemotherapy affects the prognosis. The tumor that responds well to chemotherapy and decreases in size as a result of this treatment has a better prognosis than a tumor that does not respond very well to chemotherapy.