The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Vol 70, Issue 1 60-69, Copyright © 1988 by Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc
Dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma
R Capanna, F Bertoni, G Bettelli, P Picci, P Bacchini, D Present, A Giunti and M Campanacci
1st Orthopaedic Clinic, Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli, Bologna, Italy.
The cases of forty-six patients who had dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma
were reviewed. Two groups were identified: one in which a low-grade
malignant chondrosarcoma was the precursor lesion and one in which a
moderate to high-grade malignant chondrosarcoma was the precursor lesion.
The radiographic features of these lesions ranged from that of a
cartilaginous lesion that appeared to be benign to that of a destructive
osteolytic tumor in which the cartilaginous component was overshadowed by
the dedifferentiated component. Only three of the forty-six patients
survived for more than two years. Resection alone, even when it was wide or
radical, was not successful in controlling this lethal sarcoma.