Statistics of bone sarcoma in Japan: report from the population-based cancer registry in Japan

No previous reports have characterized national bone sarcoma profiles overall. We examined the nationwide statistics for bone sarcoma in Japan using data from the National Cancer Registry (NCR), a population-based cancer registry.

We identified 3,755 patients with bone sarcomas entered in the NCR during 2016–2019 using International Classification of Diseases-Oncology, Third Edition codes for cancer topography and morphology. We extracted data on patient demographics, tumor details (reason for diagnosis, tumor location, histology, extent of disease), hospital volume/type, treatment, and prognosis for each patient.

Bone sarcoma showed a slight male preponderance. The age distribution peaked at ages 10–20 and 60–80; approximately 44% of patients were aged over 60 years. Chordoma, chondrosarcoma, and malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone peaked in the elderly, and Ewing’s sarcoma peaked in children. Osteosarcoma had two peaks in Japan as well as in Western countries. The most frequent tumor locations were the limb (45%) and the pelvis (21%). Extent of disease was categorized as: “localized” (39%), “regional” (27%), and “distant” (11%). We found significant associations between overall survival and age, tumor location, facility type, hospital volume, histologic subtype, reason for diagnosis, and extent of disease. The latter had the poorest survival.

This is the first study to outline the epidemiology, clinical features, treatment, prognosis, and significant factors affecting prognosis of bone sarcoma in Japan using the NCR. Documenting our data regarding elderly patients’ outcomes is essential so other countries showing similar population-aging trends can learn from our experiences.

Prognostic studies, Level III.