Osteosarcoma of the jaw/craniofacial region

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The current study was performed to evaluate outcomes in patients with osteosarcoma of the head and neck (OHN) who were treated with surgery with or without radiotherapy (RT). METHODS: Between 1960 and 2007, 119 patients with OHN underwent macroscopic total resection with or without RT. The median age of the patients was 33 years (range, 7-77 years). Of these 119 patients 92 (77%) underwent surgery alone whereas 27 (23%) patients were treated with combined modality treatment (CMT) comprised of surgery and RT (median dose, 60 Gray [Gy]; range, 50-66 Gy). RESULTS: The median follow-up was 5.8 years. Overall survival (OS) rates at 5 years and 10 years were 63% and 55%, respectively. Corresponding disease-specific survival (DSS) rates were 67% and 61%, respectively. Stratified analysis by resection margin status demonstrated that CMT compared with surgery alone improved OS (80% vs 31%; P = .02) and DSS (80% vs 35%; P = .02) for patients with positive/uncertain resection margins. Multivariate analysis indicated that CMT for patients with positive/uncertain resection margins improved OS (P