title: An institutional review of clear cell chondrosarcoma.
abstract: Clear cell chondrosarcoma is a rare bone neoplasm with a slow progressive clinical course and infrequent metastasis, but with a high local recurrence rate. We sought to ascertain the long-term outcome of patients with this neoplasm and to identify possible factors predicting survival. Sixteen patients with clear cell chondrosarcomas treated at one institution and who had long-term clinical followup were identified. All patients were treated by surgical resection of the tumor, which was classified as clear (> 2 mm) in 10 patients and marginal or intralesional in six patients. Three patients had local recurrence after a median of 1.7 years. Metastatic disease developed in four patients with a median time to diagnosis of 8.1 years. Ten-year overall survival of patients with clear cell chondrosarcomas was 89%, and disease-free survival was 68%. Patients with surgical resections comprising clear margins had longer disease-free survival compared with patients with marginal and intralesional tumors. Inadequate surgical resection of clear cell chondrosarcoma leads to risk of local recurrence and metastatic disease. The malignancy has a tendency to metastasize relatively late, therefore, followup of patients is necessary after the generally accepted 5-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prognostic study, Level III (case control study). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Ari
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Itälä
authors.forename: Taninnit
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Leerapun
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Inwards
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Sean P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Scully
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D002813:Chondrosarcoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000401:mortality* / Q000601:surgery; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D005266:Femoral Neoplasms; D006801:Humans; D006811:Humerus; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011859:Radiography; D016019:Survival Analysis