Osteosarcoma: Then and Now. A Fifty Year Review at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to review survival, treatment methods and criteria for diagnosis of osteosarcoma at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital during two periods in the last 50 years. The records of 22 patients diagnosed with osteosarcoma and nine with osteosarcoma in Paget's disease (from 1939 to 1950) were reviewed. All but one had died within three years. One patient survived six years. The second series was taken from 1983 to 1990. Forty-nine patients, including three with Paget's sarcoma, were studied. Probability of surivival was estimated by actuarial analysis using Kaplan-Meier curves. Overall survival was estimated at 45%. Those patients who were free of metastatic disease at the conclusion of their treatment were estimated to have a probability of survival of 85%.

Paget's Disease of Bone (Osteitis Deformans)

“…The prevalence of sarcomas increases with age, with the mean age at discovery 68 years. Conversely, approximately 50% of patients with osteosarcoma who are older than age 60 will have Paget's disease 43 . Osteosarcomas may erode the bony cortex or present an osteoblastic appearance.…”