To determine factors that influence survival in patients with osteogenic sarcoma of the jaws.
Multicentre retrospective clinical pathologic study of 35 patients with osteogenic sarcoma of the jaws by the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Oncology Study Group.
Clinical charts and pathology results were reviewed on 35 patients treated between 1980 and 2000 for osteogenic sarcoma of the maxilla or mandible. Records were acquired from several major Canadian cancer registries. The following variables were examined for the effect on survival: age, gender, tumour site, grade and subtype, margins, and method of treatment.
The average age of patients was 40 years (range 14-76 years). The sex distribution was similar, with 18 males and 17 females. The primary site was the mandible in 20 patients and the maxilla in 15 patients. The overall survival was 79 +/- 7% at 2 years and 57 +/- 9% at 5 years. Local recurrence (41%) was more common than distant metastases (17%). Positive margins were the factor most strongly associated with poor prognosis on multivariate analysis (hazard ratio = 3.5, p