Radiotherapy for giant cell tumors of the bone: a safe and effective treatment modality.

BACKGROUND Giant cell tumor of the bone (GCTB) is a benign or sometimes semi-malignant neoplasm accounting for 5% of all primary bone tumors. This type of tumor has been historically considered as radioresistant, but nowadays radiotherapy (RT) is used in unresectable, recurrent or incompletely resected cases. Since the value of RT is not well defined, a national cohort study was conducted. PATIENTS AND METHODS Six German institutions collected data from 35 patients treated during the last 35 years and analyzed them. RESULTS From 1975-2010 16 male and 19 female patients with 39 lesions were irradiated for GCTB. The median age was 30 years and the median follow-up 65 months. Nineteen patients had undergone RT for recurrent or unresectable disease and 16 patients for non-in-sano resection. The actuarial 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 90% and 59%, respectively. CONCLUSION RT is an easy, safe and effective method for the treatment of GCTB. It may provide an attractive alternative to mutilating surgery.