Patient: On June 7, 2008, I found a painful swelling in the lower part of my child’s left femur and diagnosed it as osteosarcoma. What can I do in the future to prevent metastasis or recurrence? Doctor: Osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor with high recurrence and metastasis, so far the only way to achieve absolutely no recurrence is radical resection, specifically in your child’s area is hip disarticulation (amputation), other methods may have recurrence. However, the recurrence rate is related to the extent of surgical resection and the effectiveness of chemotherapy. The general recurrence rate should be 10-15% as normal. Metastasis is not better now than with chemotherapy, but still occurs in almost half of the children. Chemotherapy drugs are given in full doses and usually last about a year.