title: Giant cell tumor of bone.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To discuss the treatment and outcomes for giant cell tumor (GCT) of bone.
  
  
  METHODS
  Review of the pertinent literature.
  
  
  RESULTS
  GCT is a rare benign bone lesion most often found in the extremities of women in the third and fourth decades of life. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment and usually consists of intralesional curettage; local control rates range from 80% to 90% after this procedure. Patients with extensive, recurrent, and/or biologically more aggressive tumors may require wide excision. A small subset of patients with incompletely resectable GCTs or with lesions that are surgically inaccessible may be treated with moderate-dose radiotherapy (45-50 Gy) and have a 65% to 80% likelihood of being locally controlled.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of patients with GCTs are effectively treated with intralesional curettage. Wide excision or radiotherapy is necessary to cure a relatively limited subset of patients with extensive, aggressive, and/or incompletely resectable GCTs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA. mendewil@shands.ufl.edu
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Mendenhall
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Zlotecki
authors.forename: Mark T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Scarborough
authors.forename: C Parker
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Gibbs
authors.forename: Nancy P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Mendenhall
mesh_terms: D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery*; D003475:Curettage; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018212:Giant Cell Tumor of Bone / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant