A biopsy is a procedure used to remove sample tissue from the tumor. A surgeon, usually an orthopedic oncologist, performs the procedure using a needle or making an incision. During a needle biopsy the surgeon makes a small hole in the bone and removes sample tissue with a small instrument. During an incisional biopsy, the surgeon cuts into the tumor and removes sample tissue. The treatment of bone cancer depends on the size, location, type and stage of the cancer.
Surgery is often the primary treatment.
While amputation of a limb is sometimes necessary, using chemotherapy either before or after surgery has allowed physicians to save the limb in many cases. Radiation may also be used alone or in combination with the other treatments. New and more effective treatments are being developed in clinical trials at many hospitals and cancer centers in the United States. It is slightly more common in males than females. It is the most common primary malignant bone tumor with the exception of myeloma.