Treatment option overview How osteosarcoma is treated If it is suspected that the problem is osteosarcoma, before the first biopsy, your doctor may recommend a specialist called an orthopedic oncologist. There are treatments for all patients with osteosarcoma. Surgery is a common treatment for osteosarcoma. The doctor may remove the cancer and some of the healthy tissue around the cancer. Sometimes the cancer can be taken out without amputation, and artificial devices or bones from other places in the body can be used to replace the bone that was removed.
Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells.
Chemotherapy may be taken by pill or put into the body by a needle in a vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called systemic treatment because the drug enters the blood stream, travels through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body. Chemotherapy with more than one drug is called combination chemotherapy. In osteosarcoma, surgery is often used to remove the local tumor and chemotherapy is then given to kill any cancer cells that remain in the body. Chemotherapy given after surgery has removed the cancer is called adjuvant chemotherapy.