Abstract

Background: Osteosarcoma is the most frequent primary bone malignancy in children. Preoperative and postoperative chemotherapy and radical surgery are used in treatment of osteosarcoma.Material/Methods: In the years 1995 –1999 twenty patients with osteosarcoma were treated. All children were given preoperative chemotherapy, then radical resection of primary tumor and finally postoperative chemotherapy was introduced. Nineteen of twenty patients received two drugs chemotherapy: adriamycin /cisplatin.A median follow-up is 6.2 years.Results: Disease Free Survival (DFS) and Event Free Survival (EFS) for all the group were 0.7 and 0.45, and for non-metastatic patients DFS and EFS were 0.78 and 0.50 respectively. In 55 %of patients limb–sparing surgery was performed, the others under-went amputation. No severe, late toxic effects were observed after the treatment.Conclusions: The results confirmed the efficacy of EOI protocol in pediatric patients with osteosarcoma. A relatively large number of secondary mtetastases after completion of therapy is still unsatisfactory.

Keywords: children, treatment