Bone sarcoma incidence statistics

Cases

New cases of bone sarcoma each year, 2017-2019 average, UK.

 

Proportion of all cases

Percentage bone sarcoma is of total cancer cases, 2017-2019, UK

 

Age

Peak rate of bone sarcoma cases, 2017-2019, UK

Trend over time

Bone sarcoma incidence rates have remained stable since the early 1990s, UK

 

Bone sarcoma is not among the 20 most common cancers in the UK, accounting for less than 1% of all new cancer cases (2017-2019).[1-4]

In females in the UK, bone sarcoma is not among the 20 most common cancers (less than 1% of all new female cancer cases). In males in the UK, it is not among the 20 most common cancers (less than 1% of all new male cancer cases).

47% of bone sarcoma cases in the UK are in females, and 53% are in males.

Bone sarcoma incidence rates (European age-standardised (AS) rate Open a glossary item) for persons are similar to the UK average in all the UK constituent countries.

Bone Sarcoma (C40-C41), Average Number of New Cases Per Year, Crude and European Age-Standardised (AS) Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2017-2019

  England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland UK
Female Cases 239 21 14 7 281
Crude Rate 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.8
AS Rate 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.8
AS Rate - 95% LCL 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.8
AS Rate - 95% UCL 0.9 0.9 1.2 1.0 0.9
Male Cases 277 26 12 7 322
Crude Rate 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.8 1.0
AS Rate 1.0 1.0 0.8 0.8 1.0
AS Rate - 95% LCL 1.0 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.9
AS Rate - 95% UCL 1.1 1.2 1.0 1.2 1.1
Persons Cases 516 47 27 14 603
Crude Rate 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.9
AS Rate 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.9
AS Rate - 95% LCL 0.9 0.7 0.7 0.5 0.9
AS Rate - 95% UCL 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

95% LCL and 95% UCL are the 95% lower and upper confidence limits around the AS Rate Open a glossary item

References

  1. England data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), part of the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England, on request through the Office for Data Release, January 2023. Similar data can be found here: https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/ 

  2.  Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) on request, October 2021. Similar data can be found here:http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/. 

  3. Welsh data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU), Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-reporting-tool-official-statistics/ June 2022. 

  4. Scotland data were provided by the Scottish Cancer Registry, Public Health Scotland (PHS) on request, May 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20468

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, ICD-10 C40-C41.

Last reviewed:

In the UK in 2017-2019, on average each year almost 3 in 20 new cases (13%) were in people aged 75 and over.[1-4]

Age-specific incidence rates rise steeply from birth to around age 10-19 and drop until around age 45-49. Afterwards rates for males increase steeply and fluctuate in older age groups, and for females they continue to rise steadily. The highest rates are in the 90+ age group for females and the 85 to 89 age group for males.

Incidence rates are similar between females and males in all age groups.

Bone Sarcoma (C40-C41), Average Number of New Cases per Year and Age-Specific Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, UK, 2017-2019

For bone sarcoma, there are two distinct peaks in incidence, one in childhood and one in adulthood. Childhood cancer usually has no known cause. For cancers in adulthood, increasing incidence with age largely reflects cell DNA damage accumulating over time. Damage can result from biological processes or from exposure to risk factors. A drop or plateau in incidence in the oldest age groups often indicates reduced diagnostic activity perhaps due to general ill health.

See also

Bone sarcoma mortality statistics by age

Bone sarcoma survival statistics by age

Cancer incidence statistics by age for all cancers

References

  1. Data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (part of Public Health England), on request through the Office for Data Release, July 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/cancerregistrationstatisticsengland/previousReleases
  2. Data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, April 2020. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications.
  3. Data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-incidence-in-wales-2002-2018/, March 2021.
  4. Data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, May 2020. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/.

About this data

Data is for UK, 2017-2019, ICD-10 C40-C41,

Last reviewed:

Bone sarcoma European age-standardised (AS) Open a glossary item incidence rates for females and males combined increased by 14% in the UK between 1993-1995 and 2017-2019.[1-4] The change varied markedly between sexes.

For females, bone sarcoma AS incidence rates in the UK increased by 26% between 1993-1995 and 2017-2019. For males, bone sarcoma AS incidence rates in the UK remained stable between 1993-1995 and 2017-2019.

Over the last decade in the UK (between 2007-2009 and 2017-2019), bone sarcoma AS incidence rates for females and males combined decreased by 9%. In females AS incidence rates remained stable, and in males rates decreased by 18%.

Bone Sarcoma (ICD-10 C40-C41), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, Persons Population, 1993 to 2019

Bone sarcoma incidence rates have varied between age groups in females and males combined in the UK since the early 1990s.[1-4] Rates in 0-24s have remained stable, in 25-49s have increased by 37%, in 50-59s have increased by 54%, in 60-69s have remained stable, in 70-79s have remained stable and in 80+s have decreased by 29%.

Bone Sarcoma (ICD-10 C40-C41), European Age-Standardised Incidence Rates per 100,000 Persons Population, By Age, UK, 1993-2019

References

  1. England data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), part of the National Disease Registration Service (NDRS) in NHS England, on request through the Office for Data Release, January 2023. Similar data can be found here: https://www.cancerdata.nhs.uk/ 

  2.  Northern Ireland data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR) on request, October 2021. Similar data can be found here:http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/. 

  3. Welsh data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit (WCISU), Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-reporting-tool-official-statistics/ June 2022. 

  4. Scotland data were provided by the Scottish Cancer Registry, Public Health Scotland (PHS) on request, May 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/show-all-releases?id=20468

About this data

Data is for UK, 1993-2019, ICD-10 C40-C41

Last reviewed:

The most common specific location for bone sarcomas in the UK is the lower limb (2016-2018).[1-4] Variation of incidence by anatomical site may reflect the physical size of each site, and differences in risk factor exposure by site, among other factors.

Download this data

Cases and percentages may not sum due to rounding

See also

Find out more about the counting and coding of this data

References

  1. Data were provided by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (part of Public Health England), on request through the Office for Data Release, July 2021. Similar data can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk
  2. Data were provided by ISD Scotland on request, April 2020. Similar data can be found here: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Cancer/Publications.
  3. Data were published by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence and Surveillance Unit, Health Intelligence Division, Public Health Wales, March 2021. https://phw.nhs.wales/services-and-teams/welsh-cancer-intelligence-and-surveillance-unit-wcisu/cancer-incidence-in-wales-2002-2018/.
  4. Data were provided by the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry on request, June 2020. Similar data can be found here: http://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/nicr/

About this data

Data is for UK, 2016-2018, ICD-10 C40-C41. For some cases the specific location of the cancer is not recorded, this may be due to clinical or data recording factors.

Last reviewed:

The number of new bone sarcoma cases on average each year in the UK is projected to fall from around 520 cases in 2023-2025 to around 510 cases in 2038-2040.[1]

Bone sarcoma incidence rates are projected to fall by 8% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 1 case per 100,000 people on average each year by 2038-2040.[1] This includes a similar decrease for males and females.

For females, bone sarcoma European age standardised (AS) incidence rates Open a glossary item in the UK are projected to fall by 5% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 1 case per 100,000 per year by 2038-2040.[1] For males, AS rates are projected to fall by 11% between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040, to 1 case per 100,000 per year by 2038-2040.[1]

Bone sarcoma (C40-C41), Observed and Projected Age-Standardised Incidence Rates, by Sex, UK, 1993-2040

Download the data table (xlsx)

See also

Find out how these projections were calculated

Incidence trends over time for bone sarcoma

Projections of incidence for all cancers combined

Bone sarcoma risk

Download the projections data table

References

Calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK, February 2023. Age-period-cohort modelling approach described here, using 2020-based population projections (Office for National Statistics) and observed cancer incidence (1975-2018 for England, Scotland and Wales, 1993-2018 for Northern Ireland).

About this data

Projections are based on incidence data from 1975-2018 (England, Scotland and Wales) and 1993-2018 (Northern Ireland); the above figure presents all UK data from 1993-2018 (observed) and 2019-2040 (projected). Number of new cases and age-standardised rates are presented as annual averages for each 3-year rolling period. ICD-10 codes C40-C41.

Projections are based on observed incidence rates and therefore implicitly include changes in cancer risk factors and diagnosis. Confidence intervals are not calculated for the projected figures. Projections are by their nature uncertain because unexpected events in future could change the trend. It is not sensible to calculate a boundary of uncertainty around these already uncertain point estimates. Changes are described as 'increase' or 'decrease' if there is any difference between the point estimates.

More on projections methodology

Last reviewed:

Bone sarcoma incidence rates (European age-standardised (AS) rates Open a glossary item) in England in females are similar in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are similar in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).[1]

See also

Data table: Cancer incidence rates and excess cases by cancer type in England

Incidence by deprivation for all cancer types combined

Bone sarcoma mortality by deprivation  (not directly comparable with incidence by deprivation)

Cancer incidence by deprivation for Scotland

Cancer incidence by deprivation for Wales

Cancer incidence by deprivation for Northern Ireland

References

  1. Calculated by the Cancer Intelligence Team at Cancer Research UK, April 2020. Based on method reported in National Cancer Intelligence Network Cancer by Deprivation in England Incidence, 1996-2010 Mortality, 1997-2011 . Using cancer incidence data 2013-2017 (Public Health England) and population data 2013-2017 (Office for National Statistics) by Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2015 income domain quintile, cancer type, sex, and five-year age band.

About this data

Data is for England, 2013-2017, ICD-10 C21.

Last reviewed:

Cancer stats explained

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Cancer stats explained

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