DefinitionBy Mayo Clinic staff Bone cancer is an uncommon cancer
that begins in a bone. Bone cancer can begin in any bone in the
body, but it most commonly affects the long bones that make up
the arms and legs. Several types of bone cancer exist. Some
types of bone cancer occur primarily in children, while others
affect mostly adults. The term "bone cancer" doesn't include
cancers that begin elsewhere in the body and spread
(metastasize) to the bone. Instead, those cancers are named for
where they began, such as breast cancer that has metastasized to
the bone. Bone cancer also doesn't include blood cell cancers,
such as multiple myeloma and leukemia, that begin in the bone
marrow — the jelly-like material inside the bone where blood
cells are made. - Gebhardt MC, et al. Sarcomas of bone. In:
Abeloff MD, et al. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed.
Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2008:1945. -
Bone cancer. Fort Washington, Pa.: National Comprehensive Cancer
Network. http://www.nccn.org/profess