Bone Tumor Treatment Options

Bone tumor surgery

Customizing your treatment

The bone tumor specialists at the Weill Cornell Medicine Meyer Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital personalize your treatment, taking into account your tumor's type, location, and stage. Some slow-growing benign tumors can generally be "watched." Tumors that grow actively and aggressively may be surgically removed. If surgery is part of your treatment plan, we'll speak with you about your options and tailor an approach that works best for you, bringing in any experts you need to achieve the best outcome.

Making inoperable tumors operable

Some bone cancers may be challenging to remove surgically. We sometimes give chemotherapy for several months before surgery to shrink a bone tumor and make it operable. This approach is called "neoadjuvant" chemotherapy.

Limb-sparing surgery

About 90% of people with bone tumors in the arms or legs are candidates for limb-sparing surgery. NewYork-Presbyterian's cancer surgeons, orthopedic surgeons, neurologists, and reconstructive surgeons are experts in these procedures and collaborate to perform these complex and innovative operations. You have facilitated access to all of these services.

Reconstructive surgery

If you need surgery for bone cancer, you may be concerned that removing the tumor will affect your ability to use the affected arm or leg. Your team includes reconstructive surgeons who offer the latest techniques and tools to restore limb function. These include allografts (the use of donated bone tissue to replace removed bone) and metal prostheses (rods inserted where the bone was removed).

Chemotherapy for bone cancer

Malignant bone tumors typically require chemotherapy to destroy cancer cells. At the Meyer Cancer Center, we perform genetic analysis of your tumor to identify the molecules are driving its growth and to match you with available drugs that target those molecules. Examples of intravenous chemotherapy drugs for bone tumors include doxorubicin, gemcitabine, docetaxel, ifosfamide, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, etoposide, and dacarbazine. We use these drugs alone or in combination, depending on the type and stage of your cancer.

Patients receive chemotherapy in our modern infusion suite, which is staffed by oncology nurses with the skill, compassion, and experience to monitor you during treatment and ensure you are comfortable.