Can conventional radiographs be used to monitor the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with osteogenic sarcoma?

Abstract

Objective. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of conventional radiography in predicting histopathologic response in patients with osteogenic sarcoma who were treated with preoperative chemotherapy. Design and patients. The radiographs of 22 patients with an osteogenic sarcoma, taken before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, were reviewed. Tumour location, size, radiographic appearance, margination, cortical destruction and periosteal reaction were evaluated. The findings were correlated with the histopathologic response of the surgical specimen. Results. None of the findings proved to be of predictive value for the histopathologic response. Increase in tumour diameter and increase in ossification and/or calcification, which were seen in more than half of the patients, did not correlate with response. Conclusion. Conventional radiographs do not contribute to the identification of good or poor responders.