International Journal of Medical Research & Health Sciences

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents, accounting for 4% of all childhood cancers worldwide. In India, the incidence varies from 4.7% to 11.6%, where this malignancy is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. There is paucity of demographic and clinical data for osteosarcoma in India.

To retrospectively assess the demographic and clinical profile of pediatric osteosarcoma presenting at a tertiary cancer care centre of South India.

From January 2010 to December 2013, all children under the age of 15 years diagnosed with osteosarcoma on histopathology were retrospectively analyzed for age, gender, rural or urban location, history, location of tumour, investigations, stage and histopathological subtype. The findings were formulated to chart the demographic and clinical profile.

A total of 37 cases of pediatric osteosarcoma were analyzed. The median age was 13 years with only three patients under the age of 10 years. There was a slight female preponderance with male: female ratio of 1: 1.3. Most common mode of presentation was with pain and swelling of local site. Three patients had presented with a pathological fracture. The most common site involved was the distal femur. Over 90% of the cases were conventional osteosarcoma. Around 32% of patients had stage IV disease at presentation. Around 37% of patients from rural areas and 20% of patients from urban areas presented with metastatic disease.

The aim of the study was the demographic and clinical description of osteosarcoma in the pediatric age group. A slight female preponderance was noted. The most common sites were consistent with western data except for an increased incidence in the fibula. There was an increased incidence of metastatic disease as compared to western population and a larger proportion of these patients seemed to come from rural areas.