What are the risk factors for bone cancer?
A. There are a number of factors that may put a person at increased risk for bone cancer. Children and adolescents, particularly those who have had radiation or chemotherapy treatments for other conditions, develop bone cancer more frequently than adults. Adults with Paget’s disease, a noncancerous condition characterized by abnormal development of new bone cells, may be at increased risk for osteosarcoma. A very small number of bone cancers are due to heredity. For example, children with hereditary retinoblastoma (an uncommon cancer of the eye) are at a higher risk of developing osteosarcoma.
