Classic Osteosarcoma

Epidemiology

  • Children
    • Most common, high grade, central, affects children
    • 85% of osteosarcomas
  • M:F – 1.5:1
  • Location
    • 90% in ends of long bones
    • 50% around knee
    • distal femur 34%
    • proximal tibia 17%
    • femoral shaft 5%
    • proximal femur 5%
    • proximal humerus 9%

Clinical Features

  • Localised swelling & pain in children (usually teens)
  • Pain & mass
  • Warmth
  • No systemic symptoms
  • Mean symptom duration is 4/12
  • 10% metastases at presentation
  • Pathological fracture occasionally

Pathology

  • Dependent on predominant type of matrix produced
  • Lichenstein’s classification
    • Conventional
      • Bony (50% of all central OS)
      • Cartilaginous
      • Fibrous
    • Telangiectactic
    • Small cell
    • Giant cell (fibrohistiocytic)
  • Therefore gross & micro appearance varies
  • Osteosarcoma is the great histological imitator among bone tumours just as Ewings sarcoma is the great radiological imitator among bone tumours

Gross

  • Starts with intramedullary focus
  • Bony with areas of focus & haemorrhage
  • Skip lesions common 5-20%
  • Grows up & down medulla
  • Penetration of cortex common
  • Penetration of epiphysis less common
  • Involvement of joint rare

Histology

  • Diagnosis depends on production of malignant osteoid by the tumour
  • Cellular areas with microscopic trabeculae of bone between cells
  • Pleomorphic spindle cells with
    • Hyperchromatic nuclei
    • Atypical mitotic figures
    • May also see anaplastic cell matrix & mix of fibrous, cartilaginous & bony tissues
  • Conventional form
    • Osteoblastic
      • Prominent osteoid
    • Chondroblastic
      • Prominent cartilage
    • Fibroblastic
      • Prominent fibrous tissue
      • Looks like fibrosarcoma
  • Telangiectatic form (< 5%)
    • Similar to ABC
    • Large lytic defect filled with blood filled cavity
    • Dilated vascular channels with multinucleated giant cells
    • Anaplastic sarcomatous stroma with bone formation
    • Worse prognosis than conventional form
  • Small cell form
    • Similar to Ewing’s sarcoma
    • Nests of small cells with spindle arrangement
    • Sparse osteoid
    • Worse prognosis than conventional form
    • Responds to chemotherapy like PNET
  • Fibrohistiocytic variant (giant cell variant)
    • Similar to MFH
    • Higher age group in 3rd decade
    • Pleomorphic spindle cells & multinucleated giant cells
    • Osteoid with inflammatory matrix

Central Osteosarcoma Low Grade

  • Unusual
  • Older patient
  • M=F
  • Bone around the knee most common sites
  • Spindle cells with appearance of fibrous dysplasia & desmoid
  • Radiology more ominous than the histology

Metastatic spread

  • Primarily haematogenous
    • Lung mets can be treated by chemotherapy & surgical excision
    • Bone mets have very poor prognosis
  • Up to 80% have at least micrometastatic spread on presentation
  • Multifocal OS very rare (? actually represents metastatic OS)

Investigations

X-ray

  • Definitive Diagnosis in 55%
  • Differential Diagnosis in 35%
  • Wilner’s classification
    • Sclerotic 30%
    • Lytic 20%
    • Mixed 45%
  • Central & destructive lesion in metaphysis
    • Involves medullary canal
    • Lytic & Blastic
    • Permeative cortical destruction
  • Periosteal reaction of rapid growth
    • Codman’s Triangle (benign reactive bone which should be avoided in biopsy)
    • Sunburst Spicules
    • Soft tissue component
    • Fluffy neoplastic bone
  • Rarely in diaphysis or even epiphysis
  • Soft tissue extension the rule

CT scan

  • Defines extraosseous component
  • Identifies neoplastic bone in soft tissues
  • CT lung
    • 10% of patients have pulmonary mets on presentation
    • Best resolution for metastases

MRI

  • Best for
    • Intraosseous limit
    • Soft tissue component
    • Relationship to NV structures
    • Skip lesions (metastasis outside reactive zone)
    • Whether joint is involved (rare)

Bone Scan

  • Identifies
    • Skip lesions
    • Metastases
    • Polyostotic disease
    • Pulmonary metastases

Laboratory

  • ALP & LDH can be ↑
    • Worst prognosis
  • May be mild ↑ in ESR

Differential Diagnosis

  • Bone island
  • Osteoma
  • Osteoblastoma
  • Ewing’s sarcoma
  • Chondrosarcoma
  • Fibrosarcoma
  • Myositis ossificans
  • Osteochondroma
  • Juxtacortical chondroma
  • Fracture callous

Treatment

Chemotherapy

  • Systemic treatment
  • Goals of chemotherapy
    • Shrink tumour size
    • Treat micrometastases
    • Assess tissue response
    • Allow Limb Salvage Surgery (LSS)
    • Time to manufacture custom prosthesis
  • Neoadjuvant & Adjuvant (pre & post-op chemotherapy)
    • Marked improvement in the 5 year survival rates with this
    • Response to chemotherapy best indicator of survival
    • Necrosis Response (Huvos Grade: Grade 1 < 50%, Grade IV > 90%)
      • > 90% necrosis correlates with good prognosis
      • Greater the necrosis » better the survival
    • Some osteosarcomas have P-Glycoprotein Pump
      • Which remove chemotherapy from the cell
  • 2 cycles Preoperative
    • Rosen T 10 Regime outdated
    • Current regimen “MACI”
      • MTX
      • Adriamycin
      • Cisplatin
      • I-Phosphamide
  • Postoperative regimen
    • Similar
    • Can add VP16 & CPM (? Only if surgical excision shows > 10% tumour viability)

Surgery

  • Usually 3/12 after diagnosis
  • Usually 2/52 after end neoadjuvant chemotherapy
  • Consists of wide excision
    • 7cm proximally, 5cm distally
    • Can be in form of amputation or limb salvage procedures
  • Reconstructive Technique
    • Endoprothesis ~ Best Results
    • Arthrodesis
    • Allograft
    • DXRT to prevent local recurrence
    • Adjuvant Chemotherapy for systemic treatment
  • Reasons for amputation
    • Soft-tissue & neurovascular involvement
    • Gross leg-length inequality (young child)
    • Infected tumour
    • Unstable pathological fracture
    • Disadvantaged situation (environment, patient variables)
  • Poor outcome with any local recurrence after surgery
  • Poor outcome in presence of pathological fracture
  • Isolated Lung metastasis can be resected with good long term outcome

Outcome

  • Prior to 1971
    • 20% 5 year survival rate
  • Now
    • 70% 5 year survival rate (80% some centres)
  • Due to
    • Improved resection techniques
    • Adjuvant chemotherapy (Mayo clinic – 40% 5 year survival without chemo)
    • Resection of lung metastases early (some thoracic surgeons happy to do multiple metastectomies for osteosarcoma)
  • Limb salvage now viable option
    • Local recurrence rate the same in distal femoral OS with limb salvage vs AKA
      • 74% LSS vs 64% amputation at distal femur
    • Local recurrence rates are the same at 5-10%
  • Local Recurrence
    • Incidence 5-10%
    • Survival 5-10% at 5 years
    • Treat with local measures only
    • Dickinson says » recurrence = death
  • Worse prognosis if
    • > 15cm (3x)
    • Symptoms < 6/12
    • Age < 10 years
    • Males
    • Elevated ALP & LDH
    • Osteoblastic/ Chondroblastic
    • Proximal or Central lesion
    • Pathological fracture
    • NV involvement
  • Late Presenter
    • Paradoxically better survivor
    • Less aggressive tumour
    • Main indicator of survival is nature of tumour
      • Rather than nature of treatment
  • Death due to
    • Local recurrence
    • Lung secondaries