Risks and causes of bone cancer
Your risk of developing cancer depends on many things including:
- age
- genetics
- lifestyle
- environmental factors
Risk factors
We don’t know what causes most bone cancers. But there are some factors that may increase your risk of developing it.
Having any of these risk factors does not mean that you will definitely develop cancer.
Age
Like most cancers, the risk of bone cancer increases with age. But for some types of bone cancer, younger people have a higher risk.
Osteosarcoma is more common in adolescents (10 to 19 years). It seems to be linked to the growth of the bones during puberty.
Ewing sarcoma usually develops in children (0 to 14 years) and adolescents. But it can occur in adults.
Chondrosarcomas and spindle cell sarcomas tend to occur in adults between the ages of 30 to 60.
Chordomas are more common in adults over 50 years of age.
Cancer treatments
Doctors link the risk of bone cancer with previous radiotherapy treatment for cancer. This is particularly when it was given during childhood.
Treatment with chemotherapy drugs called alkylating agents is also linked with osteosarcoma.
Other bone diseases
Some types of bone disease can increase the risk of bone cancer:
Enchondroma or osteochondroma
Enchondroma or osteochondroma are non cancerous (benign) bone tumours. If you have these tumours, you are at an increased risk of getting a type of bone cancer called chondrosarcoma. This is very rare.
Ollier's disease
Ollier's disease is a rare condition. It is also called enchondromatosis. People with this condition develop many non cancerous (benign) tumours in their bones. These tumours can become cancerous and can turn into chondrosarcoma.
Paget disease
People with Paget disease have an increased risk of getting osteosarcoma. Paget disease is a condition where new bone replaces old bones at a faster than normal rate.
Genetic factors
Some genetic factors are linked to bone cancer:
Li-Fraumeni syndrome
A condition called Li-Fraumeni syndrome runs in families. It is caused by a gene fault inherited from your parents. If you have Li-Fraumeni syndrome, you have an increased risk of several cancers, including osteosarcoma.
Hereditary retinoblastoma
There is a type of eye cancer also caused by faulty genes. It is called hereditary retinoblastoma. Children with this gene fault also have an increased risk of osteosarcoma.
Other syndromes
The following syndromes are also risk factors for osteosarcoma:
- Werner syndrome
- Rothmund–Thomson syndrome
- Bloom syndrome
Injuries and knocks
People often think that a knock or injury to a bone can cause bone cancer. But research studies do not support this.
It's more likely that an injury causes swelling, which when it's investigated, shows up a cancer that is already there. Or a bone affected by cancer may be weakened and so is more likely to become broken (fractured) in an accident. Doctors may then spot the tumour when they investigate your fracture.
Other possible causes
Stories about potential causes are often in the media and it isn’t always clear which ideas are supported by evidence. There might be things you have heard of that we haven’t included here. This is because either there is no evidence about them or it is less clear.
