American Journal of Roentgenology, Vol 165, 1209-1214, Copyright © 1995 by American Roentgen Ray Society

ARTICLES

Osteosarcoma: subtle, rare, and misleading plain film features

ZS Rosenberg, S Lev, S Schmahmann, GC Steiner, J Beltran and D Present
Department of Radiology, Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, NY 10003, USA.

Osteosarcoma is a malignant, mesenchymal, osteoid, and bone-forming tumor [1-3]. In most cases, typical radiographic features clearly illustrate the aggressive bone-forming nature of the lesion. These features include long-bone metaphyseal location, mixed areas of lysis and sclerosis, cortical destruction, periosteal new bone, and soft- tissue mass. However, numerous factors contribute to misleading radiographic patterns of osteosarcoma. They include histologic low- grade, lytic, or minimally sclerotic lesions, early detection, confinement to the intramedullary canal, benign-appearing periosteal reaction, rare intraosseous locations (subchondral, diaphyseal, intracortical), and rare skeletal sites (e.g., soft tissues, skull, ribs, tarsal bones). Secondary osteosarcomas, such as those arising from infarcts or fibrous dysplasia, may also produce a confusing radiologic picture. The purpose of this pictorial essay is to illustrate cases of osteosarcoma that proved to be difficult diagnostic dilemmas because of their subtle, rare, or misleading plain film features.
CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. S. Stacy, T. D. Peabody, and L. B. Dixon Mimics on Radiography of Giant Cell Tumor of Bone Am. J. Roentgenol., December 1, 2003; 181(6): 1583 - 1589. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Sundaram, W. G. Totty, M. Kyriakos, D. J. McDonald, and K. Merkel Imaging Findings in Pseudocystic Osteosarcoma Am. J. Roentgenol., March 1, 2001; 176(3): 783 - 788. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]