Who is likely to get osteosarcomas?
Preteens and teens are the age groups most commonly affected by osteosarcoma, with a median diagnosis age of 15. Over 75% of the cases involve people who are under 25 years old. This could be because teens typically go through a “growth spurt” at that age. Children and young adults can get osteosarcoma as well.
Osteosarcoma is also a little more frequent amongst African Americans. Both boys and girls experience it prior to adolescence. Because boys have a longer period of skeletal growth after adolescence, it happens to them slightly more frequently.
Factors that increases you chances of getting osteosarcoma include:
- If you have gone through radiation treatment
- If you are a teenager
- Took alkylating agents, which are anticancer drugs
- If you have a certain change in your RB1 gene.
- Have any of the following conditions: Bloom syndrome [2], Li-Fraumeni syndrome [3], Diamond-Blackfan anemia [4], Paget disease [5], Hereditary retinoblastoma, Rothmund-Thomson syndrome, or Werner syndrome [6].