Giant-cell tumor of bone. A demographic, clinical, and histopathological study of all cases recorded in the Swedish Cancer Registry for the years 1958 through 1968

Abstract

All seventy-five cases recorded as giant-cell tumor of bone in the Swedish Cancer Registry for the years 1958 through 1968 were analyzed. At reexamination, fifty-three cases constituted genuine giant-cell tumor of bone and twenty cases were so-called "giant-cell variants". The genuine giant-cell tumors showed a significantly higher incidence in the urban than in the rural population. The recurrence rate was 42 per cent. Patients under the age of twenty-five rarely had recurrences. A high recurrence rate was found among patients with tumors located in the distal end of the femur and the proximal end of the tibia. Tumors penetrating through the bone cortex were more aggressive than those located entirely within bone, regardless of tumor size and presence or absence of spontaneous fracture. A malignant course was found in 11.3 per cent of cases, predominantly in patients with tumors in the femur. Histopathological grading was of no prognostic value. Primary en bloc resection with or without prosthetic replacement is recommended in patients over the age of twenty-five.