Effect of perioperative transfusions on survival in osteosarcoma treated by multimodal therapy.

We report on a retrospective study of 155 patients amputated for nonmetastatic osteosarcoma of the long bones. Among the various prognostic variables considered, a significant correlation was found only between survival and transfusions. In this report, the authors consider some hypotheses reported by others for tumors of a different nature and site and conclude that perioperative transfusion may induce depression in the immune response, which is the cause of a shorter survival in the patients reviewed.