Oncological outcome after lung metastasis in patients presenting with localized chondrosarcoma at extremities: Tokai Musculoskeletal Oncology Consortium study

The oncological outcome after lung metastasis in patients with chondrosarcoma of the extremities has not been reported. Between June 2000 and June 2013, 179 patients with chondrosarcoma in the extremities were treated at eleven hospitals. Twenty consecutive patients (11.2%) developed lung metastases after initial treatment of primary chondrosarcoma in the extremities. We investigated the oncological outcome of 20 chondrosarcoma patients with lung metastasis. There were 14 males and six females with a mean age of 49 years. The mean duration between primary surgery and appearance of lung metastases was 34 months. The mean follow-up period was 48 months. We excluded patients with lung metastasis at the time of presentation from this study. At the final follow-up, four of 20 patients had no evidence of disease, four were alive with disease, and twelve had died of disease. The 3- and 5-year survival rates after lung metastasis were 51.5% and 45.7%, respectively. Tumor grade, extrapulmonary metastasis, and treatment for lung metastases including metastasectomy and radiofrequency ablation were identified by univariate analysis to be significant prognostic factors for oncological analysis. In conclusion, this study evaluated the oncological outcome in patients with chondrosarcoma of the extremities with lung metastasis. Although a large-scale study might be required to confirm the results of this study, we suggest that metastasectomy and/or radiofrequency ablation should be considered to improve postmetastatic survival.