Benign chondroblastoma.A study of 125 cases

Abstract

Chondroblastoma is a benign bone tumor arising most often in the epiphyses of long bones. Nearly 90% occurred in patients between the ages of 5 and 25 years, but tumors were found in later adulthood and even in old age. A few chondroblastomas were predominantly cystic, and some contained zones that were indistinguishable microscopically from aneurysmal bone cysts. Conservative surgical removal, nearly always effective, should be thorough so as to minimize the risk of the occasional troublesome recurrence. Late sarcomatous change has been reported in a few cases whether radiation therapy was employed or not. Atypical sarcomas, especially chondrosarcomas, mimic chondroblastoma in rare instances, but there is no convincing evidence for a primarily malignant chondroblastoma. The one metastasizing benign chondroblastoma that was documented is a pathologic rarity. The tumor may respond favorably to radiation therapy, which should be employed only for surgically inaccessible tumors, and it may be curative.