CYTOGENETIC AND MOLECULAR-GENETIC ABERRAT IONS IN MALIGNANT PRIMARY BONE-TUMORS

Osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma and tumors of the Ewing group are the mos t frequently observed primary malignant bone tumors. In an Internet ho mepage recently constructed for the Orthopedic Hospital Rizzoli Bologn a, Italy, these tumors have represented the majority of 4423 malignant bone tumors in the arch ives of this institution since 1920 (http://w ww/tizeta.it/rizzoli). Malignant fibrous histiocytoma, fibrosarcoma, h emangioendothelioma, malignant hemangiopericytoma and giant-cell tumor s are diagnosed less frequently. Since the introduction of modern mole cular and cytogenetic techniques, knowledge of genetic aberrations in malignant bone tumors has steadily increased. However, so far only for the group of Ewing tumors has a recurrent chromosomal marker, the tra nslocation t(11;22) (q24;q12), been identified.