Chondrosarcoma of bone. A clinical and DNA flow cytometric study

Fifty-two patients with chondrosarcoma were treated in our hospital between 1981 and 1992. Tumours from 21 of the patients were histologically grade I, 19 were grade II, 10 were grade III and two were grade IV. Forty-seven patients were treated surgically and samples for flow cytometric DNA analysis were taken from 38 tumours with a successful measurement in 37 cases. The mean follow-up time was 40 months and during this period 17 of the patients treated surgically developed a local recurrence or metastasis. In one case, a highly anaplastic sarcoma developed after radiation treatment. Only two of the 19 diploid tumours recurred, whereas eight of the 18 aneuploid tumours showed a recurrence. These results indicate that DNA flow cytometry is of prognostic significance in chondrosarcomas and may aid in planning the treatment.