SPACE-OCCUPYING LESIONS OF THE PELVIC BON E - RADIOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF 234 CASES

Purpose: From the material of a bone tumour record file, an attempt wa s made to determine criteria enabling radiographic prediction of malig nancy and tumour entity of lesions of the pelvis. Methods: Patients' a ge, location and radiographic morphology of 234 space-occupying lesion s of the pelvis were analysed retrospectively. Results: 62.8% of all l esions were malignant, and the portion of malignant tumours increased with increasing age. While 68.0% of the lesions were found in the iliu m, 18.8% in the pubis and 13.2% in ischium, the proportion of benign a nd malignant lesions did not vary in the different bones. Lesions show ing a growth rate according to Lodwick grade IA and to IB were benign in 100% and in 82.0%, respectively. In contrast, tumours of grade II o r III were malignant in 89.1% and 88.0% of cases, respectively. Conclu sions: By the construction of subgroups by combining the patients' age and growthrate, the prediction of the malignant potential of a lesion increased significantly. The younger the patient, the more aggressive ly a benign lesion may grow, while the older the patient the slower a malignant tumour may grow. Prediction of the tumour entity is rarely p ossible.