Bone cancer care at Mayo Clinic

Your Mayo Clinic care team

Mayo Clinic orthopedic specialists work together as a multidisciplinary team with oncologists, microvascular surgeons, plastic surgeons and other specialists to evaluate and treat each individual condition. This means that you're not getting just one opinion — you benefit from the knowledge and experience of each specialist on the multidisciplinary team.

Close collaboration enables your medical team to have your test results available quickly and then appropriately schedule your appointments across a team of specialists.

Seeking new knowledge and more-effective treatments for bone cancer, Mayo Clinic doctors continually study new diagnostic and treatment options and test them through clinical trials. Through this wide research network, you have direct access to the expertise of Mayo Clinic clinician-researchers.

Advanced diagnosis and treatment

With state-of-the-art research and laboratory facilities, the specialists on the bone cancer team at Mayo Clinic use sophisticated imaging tests and comprehensive physical examinations to obtain a detailed, accurate diagnosis.

Mayo Clinic's team of bone cancer experts has ready access to the latest technology to improve care for people with bone cancer. Mayo Clinic specialists use advanced techniques, such as intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), stereotactic radiosurgery and radiofrequency ablation for cancer.

Mayo Clinic also offers an advanced proton beam therapy program. In proton therapy, a high dose of radiation can be delivered to a tumor while minimizing the dose to adjacent normal tissues.

Specialists in pediatric care

A special strength of Mayo Clinic's bone cancer program is treating childhood bone cancer. The pediatric oncologists, orthopedic doctors and other specialists at Mayo Clinic are adept at diagnosing and treating infants and children with bone cancer and lead national trials in this field.

Certain chemotherapy and radiation treatments increase the risk of impaired fertility. As part of the Mayo Clinic Children's Center, the Fertility Preservation Program staff evaluates children with cancer whose disease and treatment could affect future fertility. Fertility preservation services are also available for adults.

Innovative surgical procedures

Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeons employ the most advanced surgical options for limb reconstruction. For bone cancers near the knee, a rotationplasty can remove the cancerous tissue and then rotate and reattach the lower portion of the leg so that the ankle can serve as a replacement knee joint.

Older patients may be candidates to have the entire bone replaced with a prosthetic device made of metal and hard plastic. In children, a special prosthesis can be used that can be expanded as the child grows. In select cases, 3-D printers are used to plan complex operations and reconstructions.

Expertise and rankings

Mayo has a team involving several surgeons, medical oncologists, pediatric oncologists, radiation oncologists and pathologists who specialize in treating many patients with bone tumors each year at all Mayo Clinic campuses.

Comprehensive cancer center

The National Cancer Institute has designated Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center in Rochester, Minnesota, a comprehensive cancer center. This designation recognizes the multidisciplinary approach to cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment as well as the scientific excellence of cancer work done at Mayo Clinic. Patients at Mayo Clinic have wide access to clinical trials for the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge treatments and research.

Children's Oncology Group and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

Mayo Clinic is a member of the Children's Oncology Group, a national group of institutions dedicated to children's cancer research, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. You or your child can receive coordinated diagnosis and treatment based on the latest research.

Nationally recognized expertise

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, and Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for cancer care by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester is ranked the No. 1 hospital in Minnesota, and the five-state region of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2023–2024 "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings.

Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, are ranked among the Best Hospitals for orthopedics by U.S. News & World Report. Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester is ranked the No. 1 hospital in Minnesota, and the five-state region of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2023-2024 "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings.

Learn more about Mayo Clinic's oncology and orthopedic surgery departments' expertise and rankings.

Locations, travel and lodging

Mayo Clinic has major campuses in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; and Rochester, Minnesota. The Mayo Clinic Health System has dozens of locations in several states.

For more information on visiting Mayo Clinic, choose your location below:

Costs and insurance

Mayo Clinic works with hundreds of insurance companies and is an in-network provider for millions of people.

In most cases, Mayo Clinic doesn't require a physician referral. Some insurers require referrals or may have additional requirements for certain medical care. All appointments are prioritized on the basis of medical need.

Learn more about appointments at Mayo Clinic.

Please contact your insurance company to verify medical coverage and to obtain any needed authorization prior to your visit. Often, your insurer's customer service number is printed on the back of your insurance card.