Main Content
1%
of adult cancers diagnosed in the United States1
21%
of childhood cancers in the United States1
Estimated
18,020
people in the United States will be diagnosed with sarcoma this year2
Estimated
7,610
deaths from this disease will occur in the United States this year2
At any one time, more than 236,000 patients and their families are struggling with sarcoma.3,4
About 20% of all sarcomas fall into the category of “ultra-rare”, with an incidence of 1 per 1,000,000 or less.11
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, which is why there is an extreme need for new therapeutic options.
Sarcomas are described as being localized, regional, or metastatic when they are first found.
Localized means the tumor is confined to the part of the body where it started.
Regional means the tumor involves or attaches to nearby tissues or organs. This often means it is not possible to remove the tumor because of its location, size, or the organs it involves.
Metastatic means the sarcoma has spread to parts of the body far away from where the sarcoma started.6
Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS)
Estimated
13,910
people (7,840 men and boys and 6,070 women and girls) in the United States will be diagnosed with STS this year.5
Estimated
5,400
deaths (2,960 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 236,000 patients and their families are struggling with sarcoma.3,4
About 20% of all sarcomas fall into the category of “ultra-rare”, with an incidence of 1 per 1,000,000 or less.11
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, which is why there is an extreme need for new therapeutic options.
Sarcomas are described as being localized, regional, or metastatic when they are first found.
Localized means the tumor is confined to the part of the body where it started.
Regional means the tumor involves or attaches to nearby tissues or organs. This often means it is not possible to remove the tumor because of its location, size, or the organs it involves.
Metastatic means the sarcoma has spread to parts of the body far away from where the sarcoma started.6
Survival Rate
66%
The overall five-year survival rate for soft tissue sarcoma.
About57%
of sarcomas are found as a localized sarcoma. The five-year survival rate for people with localized sarcoma is 83.1%.
About18%
of sarcomas are found in a regional stage. The five-year survival rate for people with regional sarcoma is 59.7%.
About16%
of sarcomas are found in a metastatic stage. The five-year survival rate for people with metastatic sarcoma is 16.8%.6
About8%
of sarcomas are found with unknown or are unstaged. The five-year survival rate
for people with unknown or unstaged sarcoma is 61.3%.10
The length of time a person lives with a soft tissue sarcoma depends on many factors. These factors include the subtype of STS, the size, where it is located, and how quickly the tumor cells are growing and dividing, called the grade. 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 sometimes 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 4,110 people of all ages (2,290 men and boys and 1,820 women and girls) in the United States will be diagnosed with primary bone sarcoma.7
It is estimated that 2,210 deaths (1,240 men and boys and 970 women and girls) from this disease will occur in the United States this year.2
The most common forms of bone sarcomas are osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, chordoma, and giant cell tumor of the bone.7
Survival rates in the United States for bone sarcoma depend on many factors, including the type and stage of bone sarcoma that is diagnosed.
84.5%
Five-year survival rate if the cancer is diagnosed at the localized stage
68.8%
Five-year survival rate if the cancer has spread to surrounding tissues or organs and/or the regional lymph nodes
32.5%
Five-year survival rate if the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body
62.8%
Five-year survival rate if the cancer is unstaged.8
- The Epidemiology of Sarcoma – Clinical Sarcoma Research
- New Case Estimates – Cancer Statistics Center
- SEER Cancer Statistics Explorer – Soft Tissue Cancer
- SEER Cancer Statistics Explorer – Bone Cancer
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma – American Cancer Society
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma Survival Rates – American Cancer Society
- Key Statistics – Bone Cancer – American Cancer Society
- SEER Cancer Statistics Explorer – Bone Cancer by Stage
- WHO Classification of Tumours Editorial Board. Soft tissue and bone tumours [Internet]. Lyon (France): International Agency for Research on Cancer
- Cancer Stat Facts – National Cancer Institute
- Ultra-rare Sarcomas: A consensus paper from the Connective Tissue Oncology Society community of experts on the incidence threshold and the list of entities. Cancer.
