The Clinical and Epidemiological Characteristics of 100 Patients with Osteosarcoma in a 10-year Period

Background and Osteosarcoma is among primary bone tumors, seen mostly in long bones among young adults. Therapeutic approach to this disease consists of surgery and chemotherapy. Unfortunately, there is no access to information on its early symptoms and the high risk group. Therefore, in this study we have assessed the epidemiologic, clinical and paraclinical characteristics of osteosarcoma. Methods and Materials: This cross sectional descriptive study involved 100 cases of osteosarcoma with various ages admitted to academic hospitals in Mashad, Iran. The obtained data were analyzed statistically in SPSS 11.5. There were 69 male and 29 female patients, with a mean age of 17.6±7.04 years. The most common tumor sites were femur (46%) and tibia (41%). Bone pain (56 cases), swelling (18 cases) and pathologic fractures (11 cases) were the most common complaints. Osteosarcoma can be recognized as a malignancy in young male adults, which is characterized mainly with pain.