Gender and Race

Bone cancers and soft tissue sarcomas are found more frequently in males than females, and more frequently among Whites than those of any other race. However, rates have varied slightly for both genders and by race for the past decade. The average annual incidence of bone cancers between 2006 and 2010 was nine in one million, a rate that has remained constant for the last decade. The rate among White males was 12 in one million, while, among White females it was eight in one million. The lowest rate of six in one million was found for both males and females of the Asian or Pacific Islander race. The incidence of cancer of the bones and joints in the United States is comparable to several site-specific oral cancers (ie, lip, salivary gland, floor of the mouth), cancers of the bile duct, cancers of the eye, and Kaposi’s sarcoma, which affects the skin and mucous membranes and is often associated with immunodeficient individuals with AIDS. (Reference Table 8A.1.1 PDF CSV)

As with bone and joint cancers, males have a higher incidence of myeloma than do females, with an average of 71 cases in one million males to 42 cases in one million females. Blacks have a much higher incidence rate of myeloma than Whites. The incidence of myeloma in the United States is comparable to the incidence of esophageal, liver, cervical, ovarian, brain, and lymphocytic leukemia cancers. (Reference Table 8A.1.2 PDF CSV)

Age

The median age for cancers of the bones and joints has risen slightly, to age 42 years, in recent years. However, it remains the leading cause of cancer in young persons under the age of 20 years. More than one in four diagnoses of bone and joints cancer is in children and youth under the age of 20 years, with more than one-half (52%) of cases diagnosed in person younger than 45 years. Males are typically diagnosed with bone cancers, and die from bone cancer, at an age several years younger than females. (Reference Table 8A.2.1 PDF CSV and Table 8A.3.2 PDF CSV)

Myeloma, on the other hand, is primarily a cancer found among elderly persons, with a median age of 69 at the time of diagnosis. Eight-five percent of new myeloma cases are diagnosed in persons age 55 years and older. Again, males are typically diagnosed with myeloma at ages several years younger than females. (Reference Table 8A.2.1 PDF CSV, Table 8A.2.2 PDF CSV, and Table 8A.3.2 PDF CSV)