OSTEOSARCOMA OF THE HEAD AND NECK - METAANALYSIS OF NONRANDOMIZED STUDIES

To assess the role of adjuvant therapy in the treatment of osteogenic sarcoma of the head and neck, treatment and survival information from 173 patients with osteosarcoma of the head and neck was entered into a database. A meta-analysis of the data was attempted with primary emph asis on the effect of adjuvant therapy on disease outcome. The overall 5-year survival was 37%, Patients with mandibular and maxillary tumor s had similar survival rates; both groups fared significantly better t han patients with extragnathic tumors (P<0.001), Treatment with surger y alone was associated with significantly longer survival fates (P<0.0 3) than surgery with adjuvant therapy in the majority of patients repo rted, information about surgical margins was not available. For this r eason, the differences may not adequately represent the effect of adju vant therapy, While there have been encouraging results with adjuvant treatment protocols for long bone osteosarcoma, the ultimate role of r adiation and chemotherapy in the management of osteosarcoma of the hea d and neck remains unproven, Nevertheless, we recommend that adjuvant therapy be considered due to the poor prognosis in osteosarcoma of the head and neck.