PRIMARY OSTEOSARCOMA PRESENTING IN AXIAL BONES IN CHILDHOOD

Six cases of osteosarcoma occurring between 1971 and 1992 and involvin g the axial bones were reviewed. They constituted 4% of 129 osteosarco mas occurring in the skeleton in childhood during the same period at o ur center. The patients' ages ranged from eight to seventeen years. Fo ur of the six patients were female. The distribution of axial bones of osteosarcoma was as follows: one case was in the vertebrae two cases in the craniofacial bones (maxilla and mandible), two cases in the pel vis and one case in the ribs. The prognosis was very poor, with only o ne case of mandible osteosarcoma still alive. The other five patients died three to sixteen months after first diagnosis. A combination of w ide surgical resection and aggressive chemotherapy may offer the best chance for long term survival.