Treatment of local osteosarcoma

We plan your treatment in a multi-professional treatment meeting according to the extent and characteristics of the tumor. In the treatment, we take into account your age, other illnesses, and functional capacity.

In osteosarcomas of low malignancy, surgical treatment is sufficient. In highly malignant osteosarcomas, surgery is supplemented with chemotherapy or radiation therapy, or a combination of both. 

Ewing’s sarcoma and high malignancy bone sarcoma metastasize at an early stage and therefore their treatment is usually initiated with chemotherapy. Depending on your situation, your treatment may also begin with surgery.

After initial chemotherapy, osteosarcoma surgery is performed as planned, usually after 3–6 chemotherapy treatments. The surgery is typically performed in a conservative manner. Tissue deficiency can be repaired with your own tissue or an artificial joint. The area to be removed can usually be replaced by a functional prosthesis.

Most patients with limb osteosarcoma can be operated on conservatively. In rare cases where the tumor has spread to a large area across the limb or is growing attached to nerves or blood vessels, amputation may be the most sensible option. If surgery cannot be performed due to the extent or location of the tumor, the tumor is treated with radiation therapy.

Once you have recovered from surgery, chemotherapy will continue. In osteosarcoma, it will continue with the same chemotherapy drugs. In Ewing’s sarcoma, we plan the treatment in accordance with the pathologist’s assessment. For some patients, we recommend progressing to high-dose chemotherapy and the replacement of the patient’s own stem cells as supportive treatment. 

The primary goal of surgery is to remove the tumor as extensively as possible and thus bring the cancer under control. The secondary goal is to save the limb and its function. The removed bone will be replaced, for example, with your own bone, banked bone, or an artificial joint.