Primary chemotherapy and delayed surgery (neoadjuvant chemotherapy) for osteosarcoma of the extremities. The Istituto Rizzoli experience in 127 patients treated preoperatively with intravenous methotrexate (high vs moderate doses) and intra-arterial cisplatinum

Twelve patients with telangiectatic osteogenic sarcoma (TOS) of the extremities were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, according to two different protocols. Preoperatively the patients received high-dose methotrexate(HD-MTX)/cisplatinum(CPD) or HD-MTX/CPD/adriamycin(ADM). CPD was delivered intra-arteriously, the other drugs intravenously. Limb salvage surgery was performed in eight instances and four patients underwent amputation. Post operative chemotherapy was tailored according to the grade of necrosis determined by preoperative treatment on the primary tumor. In ten cases (83%) the grade of necrosis resulted higher than 95%. The mean length of follow-up was 3.5 years with a range of 18 to 72 months. Ten patients (83%) reimained continuously disease-free, while two patients developed lung metastases and died of uncontrolled disease. No local recurrences were observed. These results are better than those observed in 167 contemporary cases of conventional osteosarcoma treated with the same protocols. This study confirms that TOS is not always a lethal tumor as suggested by prior reports. Employing neoadjuvant chemotherapy a high percentage of patients with TOS can be cured and in most of them, limb sparing surgery is possible and safe.