Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Oct 7;10(10):2684.
doi: 10.3390/cells10102684.

Osteosarcoma in Adolescents and Young Adults

Jun Ah Lee  1 , Jiwon Lim  2 , Hye Young Jin  1 , Meerim Park  1 , Hyeon Jin Park  1 , Jong Woong Park  3 , June Hyuk Kim  3 , Hyun Guy Kang  3 , Young-Joo Won  2
Affiliations

Osteosarcoma in Adolescents and Young Adults

Jun Ah Lee et al. Cells. .

Abstract

The epidemiology of osteosarcoma in adolescents and young adults (AYA) remains unclear. We aimed to assess and compare the clinical features of osteosarcoma between AYA and other age groups. We retrieved osteosarcoma cases diagnosed between 1999 and 2017 from the Korea Central Cancer Registry. We compared survival trends and clinical characteristics between AYA and other age groups. AYA comprised 43.3% (1309/3022) of the osteosarcoma cases. Compared to other age groups, the male-to-female ratio was highest in AYA (1.61:1). The proportion of tumors located in an extremity was 80.3% in AYA, which was lower than in young children (92.5%) or pubertal children (93.8%) but higher than in adults (55.7%) or the elderly (47.5%). As for treatments, 71.2% of AYA received local treatment and systemic chemotherapy, and 28.8% received only local treatment (surgery: 261, radiotherapy: 9, surgery and radiotherapy: 5). The 5-year overall survival (OS) was lower in AYA (68%) than in young children (78%) or pubertal children (73%) but higher than in adults (47%) or the elderly (25%). When AYA were divided into five subgroups by age, patients aged 15-19 years constituted the largest proportion (45.4%, n = 594). Additionally, the proportion of patients with a non-extremity tumor increased in an age-dependent manner, from 10.3% in AYA aged 15-19 years to 35.3% in AYA aged 35-39 years. OS did not significantly differ among the different age subgroups of AYA. The clinical characteristics and OS of the AYA were more similar to those of children than to those of adults. There is a need for cooperation between pediatric and adult oncologists for effective osteosarcoma treatment in AYA.

Keywords: Korea; adolescents and young adults (AYA); osteosarcoma.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age distribution of patients with osteosarcoma.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The 5-year overall survival trend of patients with osteosarcoma.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Overall survival of patients with osteosarcoma according to age and tumor site. (A) Extremity tumors, (B) Axial tumors.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Overall survival of AYA by age subgroups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Longhi A., Errani C., De Paolis M., Mercuri M., Bacci G. Primary Bone Osteosarcoma in the Pediatric Age: State of the Art. Cancer Treat. Rev. 2006;32:423–436. doi: 10.1016/j.ctrv.2006.05.005. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ferrari S., Bertoni F., Mercuri M., Picci P., Giacomini S., Longhi A., Bacci G. Predictive Factors of Disease-Free Survival for Non-Metastatic Osteosarcoma of the Extremity: An Analysis of 300 Patients Treated at the Rizzoli Institute. Ann. Oncol. 2001;12:1145–1150. doi: 10.1023/A:1011636912674. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bacci G., Longhi A., Versari M., Mercuri M., Briccoli A., Picci P. Prognostic Factors for Osteosarcoma of the Extremity Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: 15-Year Experience in 789 Patients Treated at a Single Institution. Cancer. 2006;106:1154–1161. doi: 10.1002/cncr.21724. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bacci G., Longhi A., Bertoni F., Bacchini P., Ruggeri P., Versari M., Picci P. Primary High-Grade Osteosarcoma: Comparison Between Preadolescent and Older Patients. J. Pediatr. Hematol. Oncol. 2005;27:129–134. doi: 10.1097/01.mph.0000155860.38641.83. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Meyers P.A., Heller G., Healey J., Huvos A., Lane J., Marcove R., Applewhite A., Vlamis V., Rosen G. Chemotherapy for Nonmetastatic Osteogenic Sarcoma: The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Experience. J. Clin. Oncol. 1992;10:5–15. doi: 10.1200/JCO.1992.10.1.5. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types