Background on Osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma is the most common type of bone cancer. Each year, the disease afflicts more than 900 people in the U.S., almost half of whom are children and young adults under 20. Osteosarcoma starts in the bone-forming cells of the body. The cells still form bone, but that bone is often weaker and more prone to breaks. As the disease progresses, osteosarcoma can metastasize, moving through the bloodstream and infecting other parts of the body. This article will address osteosarcoma causes, prevention and treatment.
Causes and Prevention of Osteosarcoma
There are no known causes of osteosarcoma, but there are risk factors to look out for, some of which can be prevented. Smoking and other lifestyle choices such as diet are forms of preventable risks. But there are several other risks that cannot be avoided. Chances of getting osteosarcoma are highest during the childhood and adolescent phases of life, when youths are most prone to growth spurts. Other factors, such as receiving radiation treatments at a young age, raise the risk of contracting the disease.
Surviving the Disease
Although clinicians have been unable to find out what causes osteosarcoma, the treatment of the disease has come a long way in the last 30 to 40 years. Back in the 60s, a person who had osteosarcoma faced amputation and minimal chances of surviving more than two years after diagnosis. Today, with chemotherapy before and after surgery, up to 80 percent of those with non-metastatic osteosarcoma live longer than five years after diagnosis.
Tags: after diagnosis, causes osteosarcoma, more than, years after, years after diagnosis