Background: Epidemiology data from population-based cancer registries (PBCR) can be very valuable in the development of health policy and for improving the quality of cancer control strategies.
Methods: This study analyzed the incidence of bone sarcomas in Thailand during 2001 - 2015 by analyzing data obtained from 5 PBCRs across country. Incidence rates per million person-years by sex, histological subtype, primary site and 5-year age group were calculated. Age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) were adjusted using the WHO's World Standard Population and comparisons between populations were done using standardized rate ratios (SRR). Incidence trends were evaluated using Joinpoint Trend Analysis. Survival rates were analyzed using STATA.
Results: The ASR of bone sarcomas in Thailand was 5.1/106 person-years, with an estimated 328 newly diagnosed bone sarcomas per year for the country overall. Osteosarcoma (52.5%), chondrosarcoma (18%), Ewing's sarcoma (11.6%), giant cell tumor (4.8%) and chordoma (4.7%) were the most common malignant bone tumors, representing 91.5% of all bone sarcomas. Bone sarcoma has a predilection for males (1.29:1) and an age-specific bimodal rate pattern closely related to the major histological subtypes, osteosarcoma. One- and five-year survival rates of Thai patients with bone sarcoma were 74% and 52%, respectively. Survival rates of bone sarcomas, particularly osteosarcoma, were lower than the rates reported from the United States, Europe and Japan.
Conclusion: The lower overall survival rate of bone sarcoma represented the gap of bone sarcoma control program in Thailand. That indicates the need for improvement in health promotion, treatment process and chemotherapy for bone sarcoma patients in the future.
Keywords: Bone sarcomas; Epidemiology; Incidence; Osteosarcoma; Survival rate.
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