About the Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Program

Whether your child’s doctor suspects a benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous) bone or soft tissue tumor, or you’re seeking a second opinion for a recent diagnosis, our experts at the Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Program at CHOP will work together to develop a personalized diagnosis and treatment plan for your child. Our team also sees patients who have already received chemotherapy or other therapies and have either relapsed or need further treatment, in collaboration with our Precision Medicine for High-Risk Pediatric Cancer Program.

Our care team includes experts from several areas of medicine, designed to provide the best possible coordinated care for your child. Both the Division of Orthopaedics and the Cancer Center at CHOP are ranked among the best in the nation on U.S. News & World Report’s prestigious 2023-24 Honor Roll of Best Children's Hospitals. Your child’s healthcare team at CHOP may include experts in pediatric orthopaedic surgery, diagnostic and interventional radiology, oncology, radiation oncology, general surgery, plastic surgery, pathology, physical and occupational therapy, nursing, and psychosocial services.

Coordinated care from a team of highly specialized healthcare professionals is important because there are often many different approaches to treating bone and soft tissue tumors. How your child’s condition is treated will depend on whether it’s a benign tumor or a sarcoma, the location and type of the tumor, your child’s age, their overall health and several other factors.

Diagnosis and treatment at CHOP

Your child will first be evaluated by a multidisciplinary team that may include orthopaedic surgeons, diagnostic and interventional radiologists, and oncologists.
Informed by our extensive experience in treating your child’s particular type of tumor, our team will develop an integrated, personalized and thoughtful approach to his or her care.
For children with benign bone and soft tissue tumors, treatment may include innovative surgical techniques.

• Minimally invasive procedures: In some cases, our team is able to perform minimally invasive procedures that allow children to quickly and safely return to their normal activities.
• Advanced limb salvage procedures: Some tumors may require removal through an advanced limb salvage procedure. These procedures remove tumor tissue while preserving the child’s growth potential and quality of life.

For children with bone and soft tissue sarcomas, treatment may include surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation. The specific plan is developed based on the specific type and location of each patient’s tumor. In addition, we collaborate closely with the Division of Genomic Diagnostics to molecularly profile (sequence) each patient’s tumor to identify the optimal treatment.

• Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy refers to medicines that help fight cancer. They are given by mouth or in the vein. For malignant (cancerous) bone and soft tissue tumors, chemotherapy is often the first form of treatment your child will receive.
• Surgery: Our orthopaedic surgeons in the Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Program perform innovative surgical techniques. In some cases, our team is able to perform minimally invasive procedures that allow children to quickly and safely return to their normal activities. In other cases, the team performs advanced limb salvage procedures which preserve the child’s growth potential and quality of life.
• Radiation therapy, including proton therapy: Radiation therapy uses high-energy waves such as X-rays, gamma rays, electron beams or proton beams to kill or shrink cancer cells. The Cancer Center at CHOP offers proton therapy in collaboration with Penn Medicine at the Roberts Proton Therapy Center.

Our research and training

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has a long history of providing outstanding care for children and adolescents with both benign and malignant tumors of the bones and soft tissues. Our highly skilled doctors have the training and experience needed to perform complex and advanced procedures when necessary. Physician-researchers in the Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor Program team are also actively researching new ways of treating children with these conditions by collaborating with researchers at many of the schools at the University of Pennsylvania.