[Chondrosarcoma of the hand. Diagnostic and therapeutic discussion (three case reports)]

Chondrosarcoma of the hand is very rare. We report three observations which enable us to make a review of its pathology. There were two men and one woman aged 72, 38 and 63 years respectively. Localisation was phalangeal in two cases and metacarpal in one case. Two cases were central and one peripheral. Radiographs were characterised by the presence of lytic areas with intralesional calcifications and soft tissue extension. Histological diagnosis was made by biopsy in two cases and after amputation of the finger for lesional spread in one case. Treatment consisted of amputation of the finger in two cases. In the case of metacarpal localisation, wide resection of two rays was followed by recurrence after ten months which required amputation of the hand. We agree with other authors who believe that chondrosarcoma in the hand is due to malignant change in a pre-existing chondroma. Conservative treatment is difficult due to the small size of the hand which allows easy spread of the tumour from compartment to compartment.