SELNET clinical practice guidelines for bone sarcoma.

Bone sarcoma are infrequent diseases, representing < 0.2% of all adult neoplasms. A multidisciplinary management within reference centers for sarcoma, with discussion of the diagnostic and therapeutic strategies within an expert multidisciplinary tumour board, is essential for these patients, given its heterogeneity and low frequency. This approach leads to an improvement in patient's outcome, as demonstrated in several studies. The Sarcoma European Latin-American Network (SELNET), aims to improve clinical outcome in sarcoma care, with a special focus in Latin-American countries. These Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) have been developed and agreed by a multidisciplinary expert group (including medical and radiation oncologist, surgical oncologist, orthopaedic surgeons, radiologist, pathologist, molecular biologist and representatives of patients advocacy groups) of the SELNET consortium, and are conceived to provide the standard approach to diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of bone sarcoma patients in the Latin-American context.

[Dedifferentiated diaphyseal juxtacortical osteosarcoma of ulna with metastasis to the lung]. / Osteosarcoma parostal desdiferenciado en diáfisis de cúbito metastásico a pulmón.

Dedifferentiated parosteal osteosarcoma is a variant in which a high grade osteosarcoma coexists with a parosteal osteosarcoma. We report the case of a 20-year-old female patient who presented with six months of evolution of pain and functional limitation of the right forearm, with no apparent cause; radiographs were performed, observing a tumoral lesion in the diaphysis of the right ulna. Physical examination showed pain upon palpation in the diaphysis of the ulna and limitation of prone-supination. Axial computed tomography of the thorax revealed metastatic disease in the upper lobe of the left lung. An incisional biopsy was performed on the right ulna, with a report of dedifferentiated parosteal osteosarcoma. Therefore, the patient was managed with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with cisplatin and doxorubicin until completing three cycles. Surgical treatment consisted of intercalary resection of the diaphysis of the right ulna, plus reconstruction of the microvascularized autologous graft of the right fibular diaphysis and graft stabilization with 3.5 mm dynamic compression plate (DCP) and one-third tubular plate. In the same procedure, pulmonary metastasectomy was performed by thoracoscopy. Post-surgical histopathological report with 100% necrosis. Currently, the patient is asymptomatic, with no evidence of tumor activity. Dedifferentiated parosteal osteosarcoma is a rare pathology, but should be suspected as a differential diagnosis in the presence of a parosteal osteosarcoma; it should be taken into account that this disease can metastasize due to its dedifferentiated pattern. It is important to plan a surgical treatment that allows an adequate functional reconstruction, always taking into account the oncological principle.

El osteosarcoma parostal desdiferenciado es una variante en la cual un osteosarcoma de alto grado coexiste con un osteosarcoma parostal. Se presenta el caso de un paciente femenino de 20 años; acudió con seis meses de evolución de dolor y limitación funcional en el antebrazo derecho sin causa aparente; se le realizaron radiografías, donde se observó una lesión tumoral en la diáfisis del cúbito derecho. A la exploración física, presentó dolor a la palpación en la diáfisis del cúbito y limitación a la pronosupinación. La tomografía axial computada de tórax reveló enfermedad metastásica en el lóbulo superior del pulmón izquierdo. Se le efectuó una biopsia incisional de la tumoración en el cúbito derecho, con reporte de osteosarcoma parostal desdiferenciado. Por ello, inició manejo con quimioterapia neoadyuvante con cisplatino y doxorrubicina hasta completar tres ciclos. El tratamiento quirúrgico consistió en resección intercalar de la diáfisis del cúbito derecho más reconstrucción de injerto autólogo microvascularizado de la diáfisis del peroné derecho y estabilización del injerto con placa de compresión dinámica (DCP) 3.5 mm y placa tercio de caña. En el mismo procedimiento se le efectuó metastasectomía pulmonar por toracoscopía. El reporte histopatológico postquirúrgico, con necrosis de 100%. Actualmente, la paciente se encuentra asintomática, sin datos de actividad tumoral. El osteosarcoma parostal desdiferenciado es una patología rara, pero que se debe sospechar como diagnóstico diferencial ante un osteosarcoma parostal; se debe tener en cuenta que esta enfermedad puede generar metástasis por su patrón desdiferenciado. Es importante planificar un tratamiento quirúrgico que permita una adecuada reconstrucción funcional, siempre teniendo en cuenta el principio oncológico.

[Atipic osteosarcoma in the femoral shaft case report and review of the literature]. / Osteosarcoma con presentación atípica en tercio medio de diáfisis de fémur. Reporte de un caso clínico y revisión de la literatura.

Osteosarcoma is the most frequent primary malignant bone tumor. It is characterized by osteoid production by tumor cells. Its most frequent location is in the metaphyses of long bones, but a purely diaphyseal presentation is reported in 10% of cases. We report the case of a female 25 year-old patient whose symptoms of pain and swelling of the right mid thigh started four months before, without an apparent cause. Femur X-rays showed a tumor in the femoral shaft. The MRI showed extension to soft tissues with no compromise of the neurovascular bundle. The histopathologic report of the incisional biopsy was osteoblastic and chondroblastic osteosarcoma, classified as Enneking IIB, AJCC IIB. Treatment consisted of three cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Then intercalary femur resection plus reconstruction with centromedullary nailing and a diaphyseal spacer were performed. The histopathologic report was 95% necrosis (Huvos grade III). Three cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy were given and now, 18 months after completing the latter, the patient has no signs of local or distant tumor activity, and she can walk unassisted. Despite the fact that osteosarcoma does not occur usually in the mid shaft of long bones, we should always bear it in mind as part of the differential diagnosis for other conditions that occur more frequently in that region. Such location allows for a broad gamut of surgical approaches that spare the adjacent joints.

El osteosarcoma es el tumor maligno primario más frecuente del hueso. Se caracteriza por la formación de osteoide por las células tumorales. Su localización más frecuente es en las metáfisis de los huesos largos; sin embargo, la presentación puramente diafisaria se reporta en 10% de los casos. Se expone el caso de paciente del género femenino de 25 años que inició padecimiento cuatro meses previos a nuestra valoración al presentar dolor y aumento de volumen en tercio medio de muslo derecho, sin causa aparente. Las radiografías del fémur revelaron un tumor en la diáfisis del mismo. La resonancia magnética mostró extensión a partes blandas, sin compromiso del paquete neurovascular. Se tomó biopsia incisional con reporte histopatológico de osteosarcoma osteoblástico y condroblástico. Se clasificó como Enneking IIB, AJCC IIB. Inició tratamiento con tres ciclos de quimioterapia neoadyuvante y posteriormente se le realizó resección intercalar de fémur más reconstrucción con clavo centromedular y espaciador diafisario. El reporte histopatológico evidenció necrosis de 95% (Huvos grado III). Se continuó con tres ciclos de quimioterapia adyuvante. A 18 meses de concluida la quimioterapia adyuvante la paciente se encuentra sin datos de actividad tumoral local o a distancia, tolerando la deambulación sin auxiliares de la marcha. A pesar de que el osteosarcoma no se presenta de forma habitual en el tercio medio de la diáfisis de los huesos largos, debe siempre tomarse en cuenta como un diagnóstico diferencial con otras patologías de localización más frecuente en dicha región. Esta localización nos permite una amplia gama de alternativas quirúrgicas con la preservación de las articulaciones adyacentes.

Clinical and pathological factors associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with hepatitis virus-related cirrhosis: a long-term follow-up study.

AIMS: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents >90% of primary liver neoplasms and develops mainly in patients with liver cirrhosis. Risk factor identification for the development of HCC in patients with cirrhosis possesses great clinical relevance due to its high incidence and poor prognosis when detected at advanced stages. The aim of this study was to identify HCC development-associated risk factors in a cohort of patients with hepatitis virus-related chronic liver disease and cirrhosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with a diagnosis of hepatitis virus-related cirrhosis between January 1980 and January 2000 were included. Patients were followed with an abdominal ultrasound and the determination of alpha-fetoprotein levels, a physical examination, and routine biochemical tests every 3-6 months. The end point of the study was defined as the development of HCC. Liver histology was evaluated according to the French METAVIR Cooperative Study Group (METAVIR) score. RESULTS: Two hundred and eighty-two patients met the inclusion criteria; most of these (86%) had a serologic diagnosis of hepatitis C virus, and only 14% had hepatitis B virus at the time of the diagnosis of cirrhosis, whereas 56 and 37% were classified as Child A and B, respectively, and only 7% as Child C. Histological activity was mild in 59% of patients, and moderate and severe in 41%. The mean annual incidence was 1.87%, and 22 and 35% of patients developed HCC at 10 and 15 years of follow-up, respectively. The diagnosis of HCC was made by histopathology in 37% and by tumoural lesion-associated alpha-fetoprotein elevation confirmed by imaging studies in 63%. In multivariate analysis, we found three variables associated with HCC: moderate to severe histological activity; a platelet count <105x10(3)/mm(3), and alpha-fetoprotein >5 ng/ml. The patients were divided into two groups according to regression coefficient: low and high risk; patients assigned to the low-risk group showed 5-, 10- and 15-year HCC incidences of 3.4, 6.4 and 6.4%, respectively, in contrast to patients from the high-risk group, who showed incidences of 17.8, 33.5 and 56.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: We found three HCC-associated variables: histological activity, platelet count and alpha-fetoprotein levels. Patients considered as high risk for developing HCC must be considered candidates for closer follow-up.