title: IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE IN THE PROGNOSIS FOR PATIENTS WITH PRIMARY OSTEOSARCOMA WITH A POOR RESPONSE TO NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY BETWEEN HUVOS GRADES I AND II?
abstract: Would there be any difference in the prognosis for patients who presented, for example, 8% or 88% tumor necrosis induced by chemotherapy, even though both individuals were considered to be poor responders? The aim of this study was to compare the prognoses for different histological grades (Huvos grade I versus grade II), consequent to chemotherapy, among patients with primary osteosarcoma that was not metastatic at diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four patients admitted to a referral center between 2000 and 2004 were selected for the study. The accumulated chances of survival were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier technique. Huvos grades I and II for necrosis consequent to chemotherapy were evaluated as variables in order to determine their prognostic value, in relation to local recurrence-free survival, metastasis-free survival and overall survival, using the log-rank test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Comparing Huvos grades I and II, the following P values for survival were attained: local recurrence-free survival (P = 0.731), metastasis-free survival (P = 0.596) and overall survival (P = 0.669).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this series, Huvos grades I and II did not have any comparative prognostic value and had similar behavior.
authors.affiliation: MSc and PhD in Orthopedics and Traumatology from the School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (FMUSP). Adjunct Professor, School of Medicine, Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Campina Grande, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosalvo Zósimo
authors.initials: RZ
authors.lastname: Bispo Júnior
authors.affiliation: Titular Professor, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (DOT/FMUSP), São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Olavo Pires de
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Camargo
keywords: Bone Neoplasms/pathology; Drug Therapy; Prognosis; Survivors