Osteosarcoma - Childhood: Stages

Approved by the Cancer.Net Editorial Board, 08/2014



The terms doctors use to describe the stage of osteosarcoma and plan treatment include:

Localized: The tumor is only in the bone where it began and in the tissue around it. The tumor has not spread to other parts of the body.

Metastatic: The tumor has spread from the bone where it began to another part of the body, most often the lungs or other bones.

Recurrent: Recurrent osteosarcoma is a tumor that has come back either during or after treatment. It can come back in the same place where it started or in another part of the body. Osteosarcoma recurs most often in the lungs and other bones. If there is a recurrence, the cancer may need to be staged again (called re-staging) using the system above.

Source: National Cancer Institute.
