Osteosarcoma - Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Who is the specialist who treats osteosarcoma?

A: Patients with osteosarcoma are usually seen by orthopaedic surgeons and then followed up by the oncology team.As many patients are young and on the verge of losing a limb, it helps to integrate psychosocial counselling and support them through the palliative care team also.

Q: What are primary bone tumours?

A: The primary bone tumours are tumors that arise from the tissues of the bone. They are of several types-

• Hematopoietic, which arise from the blood and bone marrow like and lymphoma.
Osteogenic, which are bone forming
Chondrogenic, which are cartilage forming
Fibrous and fibro osseous tumours which are composed of fibrous elements
Neuroectodermal tissue- For eg, Ewing’s tumour
Tumours where the origin is unknown

Q: What are the prognostic factors with relation to osteosarcoma?

A: Situations that can result in a worse prognosis or outcome of osteosarcoma include-

Tumours associated with Paget’s Disease Osteosarcomas of the craniofacial bones and vertebrae
Multifocal osteosarcomas, which are uniformly fatal.
The presence of genetic factors like Her 2/ neu expression, loss of heterozygosity of RB gene.
Post chemotherapy tumour necrosis