Bone cancer accounts for about 3% of all cancers in children, yet it represents roughly 34% of diagnoses in children and adolescents under age 20. In the U.S., about 1,040 new cases of bone cancer are expected, alongside about 540 deaths. Survival drops steeply by stage, with 71% 5-year relative survival for localized disease and 27% for distant cancer.
Key Takeaways
- 3% of all cancers in children are bone cancers
- 34% of bone cancer cases are diagnosed in children and adolescents under age 20
- 1,040 new cases of bone cancer are expected in the U.S. in 2024
- 5-year relative survival for localized bone cancer is 71%
- 5-year relative survival for regional bone cancer is 54%
- 5-year relative survival for distant bone cancer is 27%
- In osteosarcoma, chemotherapy plus surgery yields 5-year survival improvements compared with surgery alone in historical studies
- MAPK pathway alterations occur in a substantial fraction of osteosarcoma tumors (reported prevalence in genomic studies)
- MYC and cell-cycle pathway alterations are among the most frequent events in osteosarcoma cohorts in sequencing studies
In the U.S., bone cancer is rare but deadly, with about 1,040 new cases and 540 deaths expected in 2024.
Related reading
01 · Category
Epidemiology28 stats
01
3% of all cancers in children are bone cancers
02
34% of bone cancer cases are diagnosed in children and adolescents under age 20
03
1,040 new cases of bone cancer are expected in the U.S. in 2024
04
1,230 new cases of bone cancer are expected in the U.S. in 2023
05
540 deaths from bone cancer are expected in the U.S. in 2024
06
630 deaths from bone cancer are expected in the U.S. in 2023
07
The age-adjusted incidence rate of bone cancer (all races, both sexes) in the U.S. is about 1.0 per 100,000
08
Men have a higher incidence of bone cancer than women in the U.S.
09
Age-specific incidence rates are highest among adolescents and young adults for bone cancer
10
Osteosarcoma accounts for about 35% of all bone cancer cases
11
Chondrosarcoma accounts for about 26% of all bone cancer cases
12
Ewing sarcoma accounts for about 10% of all bone cancer cases
13
Benign bone tumors account for about 80% of bone tumors
14
About 5%–6% of pediatric cancers are bone cancers
15
In the U.S., localized bone cancer accounts for about 50% of cases at diagnosis
16
In the U.S., distant bone cancer accounts for about 25% of cases at diagnosis
17
The most common site for bone cancer is the long bones (e.g., femur, tibia, humerus)
18
Lung is the most common distant site for bone cancer metastasis
19
Bone cancer accounts for about 0.2% of all U.S. cancer cases
20
Bone cancer accounts for about 0.3% of cancer deaths in the U.S.
21
Bone metastases are more common in some cancers than primary bone cancers; however bone cancer has distinct epidemiology in SEER
22
Primary bone cancer incidence is lower than metastases to bone and is captured separately in SEER
23
Approximately 80% of Ewing sarcoma tumors metastasize to the lungs or other sites during the disease course in historical literature
24
Bone metastases from primary cancers often occur in the axial skeleton; for bone cancer metastasis, lung is most common (SEER)
25
Osteosarcoma accounts for about 35% of primary bone cancers (SEER stat facts)
26
Chondrosarcoma accounts for about 26% of primary bone cancers (SEER stat facts)
27
Ewing sarcoma accounts for about 10% of primary bone cancers (SEER stat facts)
28
Other bone sarcomas account for the remainder of primary bone cancers (SEER)
Interpretation
Epidemiology Interpretation
Although bone cancer represents only about 3% of cancers in children, it accounts for roughly 34% of pediatric and teen diagnoses under age 20 and is most often driven by osteosarcoma at about 35% of cases.
02 · Category
Survival & Outcomes19 stats
01
5-year relative survival for localized bone cancer is 71%
02
5-year relative survival for regional bone cancer is 54%
03
5-year relative survival for distant bone cancer is 27%
04
5-year relative survival for all bone cancer patients combined is 64%
05
Distant metastasis is a major predictor of poor survival in bone cancer
06
5-year relative survival for bone cancer (both sexes, all races) is 64%
07
In SEER, localized stage has a 5-year relative survival of 71% for bone cancer
08
In SEER, distant stage has a 5-year relative survival of 27% for bone cancer
09
In SEER, regional stage has a 5-year relative survival of 54% for bone cancer
10
Median overall survival for metastatic Ewing sarcoma is 16 months in modern phase 3/2 trial populations
11
Doxorubicin plus ifosfamide-based regimens for Ewing sarcoma show improved event-free survival versus older approaches (HR reported in trial literature)
12
Surgical margin status (negative margins) is a strong prognostic factor in osteosarcoma and other sarcomas
13
Pathologic tumor necrosis of at least 90% after neoadjuvant chemotherapy is associated with better outcomes in osteosarcoma
14
Osteosarcoma patients with poor histologic response (low necrosis) have worse survival outcomes
15
High tumor necrosis percentage is associated with improved event-free survival after preoperative chemotherapy
16
In SEER, the median follow-up for survival analyses varies by dataset years used for 5-year survival estimates
17
5-year relative survival for bone cancer localized is 71% (SEER stage-specific)
18
5-year relative survival for bone cancer regional is 54% (SEER stage-specific)
19
5-year relative survival for bone cancer distant is 27% (SEER stage-specific)
Interpretation
Survival & Outcomes Interpretation
The data show a steep survival drop by stage in bone cancer, with 5-year relative survival falling from 71% for localized disease to 54% for regional and just 27% for distant metastasis, underscoring how strongly spread at diagnosis drives outcomes.
More related reading
03 · Category
Treatment Patterns & Trends18 stats
01
In osteosarcoma, chemotherapy plus surgery yields 5-year survival improvements compared with surgery alone in historical studies
02
MAPK pathway alterations occur in a substantial fraction of osteosarcoma tumors (reported prevalence in genomic studies)
03
MYC and cell-cycle pathway alterations are among the most frequent events in osteosarcoma cohorts in sequencing studies
04
TP53 and RB1 pathway disruptions are common in osteosarcoma (reported frequencies in clinical genomics papers)
05
CDKN2A loss occurs in a subset of osteosarcoma tumors based on integrated genomic analyses
06
SMARCB1 and other alterations define subsets of Ewing sarcoma biology in genomic studies
07
Ewing sarcoma is characterized by an EWSR1 fusion; EWS-FLI1 is the most common transcript in genomic literature
08
The EWSR1-FLI1 fusion is present in the majority of Ewing sarcoma cases reported in transcript studies
09
Radiotherapy is used for Ewing sarcoma local control in certain patients; reported usage proportions vary by cohort
10
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is standard for Ewing sarcoma and osteosarcoma in multi-modality protocols
11
Adjuvant chemotherapy improves outcomes in osteosarcoma relative to surgery alone in randomized trial evidence
12
Dose-dense chemotherapy schedules are associated with improved outcomes in some pediatric sarcoma trial designs
13
In osteosarcoma, preoperative chemotherapy enables assessment of histologic response (necrosis percentage thresholds)
14
For chondrosarcoma, surgical resection is the primary curative treatment for conventional chondrosarcoma
15
Conventional chondrosarcoma is relatively resistant to chemotherapy and radiation compared with other bone sarcomas
16
For advanced chondrosarcoma, targeted therapies have shown limited efficacy in clinical trials (trial reported response metrics)
17
Pemigatinib targets FGFR1-3 and has shown activity in certain FGFR-altered malignancies; FGFR alterations are relevant to some sarcoma biology
18
Denosumab is an option for some giant cell tumor of bone (related bone tumor condition); response rates depend on trial endpoints
Interpretation
Treatment Patterns & Trends Interpretation
Across bone sarcoma subtypes, treatment outcomes and biological drivers look especially distinct, with osteosarcoma showing clear 5 year survival gains from chemotherapy plus surgery over surgery alone and Ewing sarcoma overwhelmingly defined by EWSR1 FLI1 fusion in the majority of transcript studies.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Julian Richter. (2026, February 13). Bone Cancer Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/bone-cancer-statistics
MLA
Julian Richter. "Bone Cancer Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/bone-cancer-statistics.
Chicago
Julian Richter. 2026. "Bone Cancer Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/bone-cancer-statistics.
Sources & references
19 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+16 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)