Main Content
1%
of adult cancers diagnosed in the United States1
15-20%
of childhood cancers in the United States1
Estimated
17,560
people in the United States will be diagnosed with sarcoma this year2
Estimated
7,250
deaths from this disease will occur in the United States this year3,4
At any one time, more than 220,000 patients and their families are struggling with sarcoma.
Sarcoma is sometimes treatable by surgery, or by surgery with chemotherapy and/or radiation, but much of the time they are resistant to all of these approaches—thus the extreme need for new therapeutic options.
Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS)
Estimated
13,590
people (7,700 men and boys and 5,890 women and girls) in the United States will be diagnosed with STS this year.5
Estimated
5,200
deaths (2,760 men and boys and 2,440 women and girls) from this disease will occur in the United States this year.5
At any one time, more than 220,000 patients and their families are struggling with sarcoma.
Sarcoma is sometimes treatable by surgery, or by surgery with chemotherapy and/or radiation, but much of the time they are resistant to all of these approaches—thus the extreme need for new therapeutic options.
Survival Rate
65%
The overall five-year survival rate for sarcoma.
About60%
of sarcomas are found as a localized sarcoma. The five-year survival rate for people with localized sarcoma is 81%.
About18%
of sarcomas are found in a locally advanced stage. The five-year survival rate for people with locally advanced sarcoma is 56%.
About15%
of sarcomas are found in a metastatic stage. The five-year survival rate for people with metastatic sarcoma is 16%.6
The length of time a person lives with a soft tissue sarcoma depends on many factors. These factors include the type of STS, the size, where it is located, and how quickly the tumor cells are growing and dividing, called the grade 4.
If the sarcoma is found at an early stage and has not spread, surgical treatment is often very effective, and many people are cured. However, if the sarcoma has spread to other parts of the body, treatment can usually control the tumor, but the sarcoma itself is often incurable.
Primary Bone Sarcoma
Primary bone sarcoma is cancer that starts in the bone. Less than 1% of all cancers are primary bone sarcomas.7
This year, an estimated 3,970 people of all ages (2,270 men and boys and 1,700 women and girls) in the United States will be diagnosed with primary bone sarcoma.2
There are roughly 6 subtypes of bone sarcomas. The most common forms of bone sarcomas are chrondosarcoma, chordoma, Ewing sarcoma, giant cell tumor of the bone, and osteosarcoma.
It is estimated that 2,050 deaths (1,100 men and boys and 950 women and girls) from this disease will occur in the United States this year.2
Survival rates in the United States for bone sarcoma depend on many factors, including the type and stage of bone sarcoma that is diagnosed.
84%
Five-year survival rate if the cancer is diagnosed at the localized stage
71%
Five-year survival rate if the cancer has spread to surrounding tissues or organs and/or the regional lymph nodes
31%
Five-year survival rate if the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body
62%
Five-year survival rate if the cancer is unstaged.8
- Sarcomas (Soft Tissue) Introduction – Cancer.net
- New Case Estimates – Cancer Statistics Center
- SEER Cancer Statistics Explorer – Sarcoma (Site 51)
- SEER Cancer Statistics Explorer – Bone Cancer (Site 50)
- Key Statistics – Soft Tissue Sarcoma – American Cancer Society
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma Statistics – Cancer.net
- Key Statistics – Bone Cancer – American Cancer Society
- SEER Cancer Statistics Explorer – Bone Cancer by Stage