Limb preservation surgery with extracorporeal irradiation in the management of malignant bone tumor: the oncological outcomes of 101 patients

Abstract

Background: En bloc resection, extracorporeal irradiation (ECI) and reimplantation have been used selectively at our centers as part of limb preservation surgery of malignant bone tumors since 1996. We report the long-term oncological outcomes.

Patients and methods: One hundred one patients were treated with ECI at two Australian centers between 1996 and 2011. A single dose of 50 Gy was delivered to the resected bone segments. The irradiated bones were reimplanted immediately as a biological graft. Patients were treated with chemotherapy as per standard protocol. The three main histological diagnoses were Ewing's sarcoma (35), osteosarcoma (37) and chondrosarcoma (20). There were nine patients with a range of different histologies.

Results: There was one local recurrence (2.86%) in Ewing's sarcoma and the 5-year cumulative overall survival was 81.9%. There was no local recurrence in osteosarcoma and five distant recurrences. The 5-year cumulative overall survival was 85.7%. The local recurrence rate was 20% (4 of 20) in chondrosarcoma, and the 5-year cumulative overall survival was 80.8%. Limb preservation was achieved in 97 patients. For the 64 patients with disease in the pelvis or lower limb, 53 (82.3%) could walk without aids at the time of last follow-up.

Conclusions: This large series of ECI shows an excellent long-term local control. It is a good alternative reconstruction method in selected patients. The overall survival is comparable to other published series.

Keywords: Ewing's sarcoma; chondrosarcoma; extracorporeal; osteosarcoma; radiation; sarcoma.