Statistics of bone sarcoma in Japan: Report from the Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Registry in Japan

Background

No previous reports to date have characterized the national profiles of bone sarcoma overall. In the present study, we aimed to describe the nationwide statistics of bone sarcoma in Japan by analyzing data from the Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor (BSTT) Registry in Japan, which is a nationwide organ-specific cancer registry for bone and soft tissue tumor.

Methods

We identified 2773 patients with bone sarcomas using the BSTT Registry during 2006–2012. We extracted the data regarding patient demographics, treatment, and prognosis at the last follow-up for each patient.

Results

There was a slight male preponderance. The age distribution had 2 peaks overall: one in the second decade and the other in the sixth to seventh decade with the proportion of the elderly patients over 60 years approximately 30%. The most frequent tumor locations were the lower extremity (N = 1342; 48.4%) and the trunk (N = 1038; 37.4%). We also showed the significant association between disease-specific survival and patient's age, histologic grade and subtype, tumor size and location, and limb salvage status based on 1401 patients with bone sarcoma, and demonstrated the worst disease-specific survival in the elderly patients.

Conclusions

The present study is the first study to have analyzed data from the BSTT Registry and has provided an overview of the epidemiology, clinical features, treatment, prognosis, and significant factors affecting prognosis of patients with bone sarcoma in Japan based on cases assumed to have received relatively uniform treatment strategies. It is essential to document our data regarding the outcomes of elderly patients so that other countries showing similar population aging trends can learn from our experiences.