Long-term survival after central nervous system relapse in a patient with osteosarcoma.

BACKGROUND

Since the advent of multiagent adjuvant chemotherapy, survival among patients with localized osteosarcoma has improved to 60% or more. Pulmonary relapse, the most common cause of treatment failure, is associated with less than 25% long-term survival; central nervous system (CNS) metastasis, when it occurs, often presents as a catastrophic clinical event in preterminal patients.

METHODS

The authors report a patient with osteosarcoma who had an isolated pulmonary relapse and a subsequent isolated CNS relapse. Complete surgical resection was accomplished on both occasions and followed in the initial instance by adjuvant chemotherapy and in the latter instance by adjuvant whole-brain irradiation.

RESULTS

An isolated CNS metastasis was resected and adjuvant whole brain irradiation was administered; the patient is alive and relapse free more than 5 years later.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with osteosarcoma in whom isolated, resectable metastases develop can derive benefit from gross total resection followed by adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation therapy for microscopic residual disease.