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Osteosarcoma is the second most common primary malignancy bone (after multiple myeloma). In its most common form it is a highly aggressive tumor that occurs most commonly in boys and in young men in their teenage and young adult years. The most common sites are the distal femur and proximal tibia (knee). Current diagnosis of osteasarcoma requires an examination and plain radiographs, a CT or MRI, imaging of the chest by CT or plain radiographs, and biopsy. Treatment is multimodal. Wide resection of the primary region is performed whenever possible and chemotherapy is given prior to surgery (neoadjuvant) and postoperatively (adjuvant). Survival of this highly malignant disease is in the range of 50% for the 1st 5 years. However, patients with a single site of disease that is amiable to complete surgical removal, and who show favorable response to the chemotherapeutic treatment, have survival that reaches 85% or higher. In the near future, more detailed understanding of osteosarcoma will come from studies into genetic makeup of the tumor. More powerful treatments are likely to be developed from this knowledge. There Adapted, with permission from bonetumor.com By Henry DeGroot III, M.D. |
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