Biology and Therapeutic Advances for Pediatric Osteosarcoma

Abstract

Abstract Learning Objectives After completing this course, the reader will be able to: Discuss etiologic and biologic factors in osteosarcoma. Select the appropriate diagnostic work-up for patients with newly diagnosed osteosarcoma. Select appropriate multidisciplinary treatment for patients with newly diagnosed osteosarcoma. Discuss various surgical approaches to the management of newly diagnosed osteosarcoma. Access and take the CME test online and receive 1 hour of AMA PRA category 1 credit at CME.TheOncologist.com Osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. Survival for these patients was poor with the use of surgery and/or radiotherapy. The introduction of multi-agent chemotherapy dramatically improved the outcome for these patients and the majority of modern series report 3-year disease-free survival of 60%–70%. This paper describes current strategies for treating patients with osteosarcoma as well as review of the clinical features, radiologic and diagnostic work-up, and pathology. The authors review the state of the art management for patients with osteosarcoma in North America and Europe including the use of limb-salvage procedures and reconstruction as well as discuss the etiologic and biologic factors associated with tumor development. Therapy-related sequelae and future directions in the biology and therapy for these patients are also discussed.