Prognosis of giant cell tumor of bone. Histopathological analysis of 15 cases and review of the literature.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is the evaluation of certain markers determining the prognosis of giant cell tumor of bone. METHODS: A clinicopathological analysis of 15 cases of giant cell tumor is presented. RESULTS: Giant cell tumor of bone mainly affects women with an average age of 34 years and is located in the upper and distal ends of the long tubular bones (93.3%). 60% of the tumor biopsies was Grade I, 33.3 % Grade II and 6.7% Grade III. The recurrence rate was 33.3% and the malignant transformation was 13.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Prognosis of giant cell tumor of bone is likely to be mistaken if it is based only on the histological picture. On the contrary, considering important parameters, such as tumor location, size and tumor aggressiveness, frequency of recurrences and type of surgical management, one may predict in most cases the clinical outcome of the neoplastic process.