Evaluation of the Therapeutic Results of Giant Cell Bone Tumor

Giant cell tumor (GCT) is a benign bone tumor that may present with invasion and even metastasis in some cases. Despite several techniques for surgical excision of the tumor, its post-operative recurrence is still a critical challenge for orthopaedic surgeons. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the result of the surgical treatment of GCTby curettage, burring, alcohol and cementation to reduce the risk of recurrence.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on participants referring to two university hospitals with the diagnosis of GCT in a 12 years period. The subjects underwent surgery using curettage, burring, alcohol irrigation, and cementation. Regular follow-ups were carried out every three months in the first year, and then every six months in the second year and annually from then on.. The recurrence-free survival rate was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method.

Surgery was performed on 28 patients. The most common tumor site was distal femur, and the most pre-operative and post-operative complaints were pain and limitation of motion, respectively. At the end of the study, local recurrence was observed in only four cases, and lung metastasis was found in one case. The results showed that recurrence-free survival was 91.7% in 21 and 76% in 108 months according to Kaplan-Meier analysis .

Although using the above-mentioned protocol seems to reduce the risk of local recurrence in patients with GCTs, complete excision of the tumor is also a crucial factor influencing the rate of local recurrence.