[Early clinical manifestations of osteogenic sarcoma]

To investigate early clinical manifestations of osteogenic sarcoma to help establishment of an early diagnosis of the disease.

A total of 92 patients with osteogenic sarcoma in the extremities were admitted to our hospital from April 1984 to October 2002. Of the 92 patients, 71 (42 males and 29 females; averaged age 17.4 years, range 6-66 years; illness course 1-28 weeks) had a complete record of their medical history and examination. From their first medical visits, we obtained their clinical symptoms, physical sings, diagnoses, and duration of the delayed diagnoses. The patients were pathologically confirmed as having osteogenic sarcoma in the extremities, with the lesions located in the distal femur in 38 patients, proximal tibia in 22, proximal femur in 3, proximal fibula in 3, proximal humerus in 2, distal tibia in 2, and distal radius in 1.

Of the 71 patients, 70 had a local pain and/or a palpable mass, 37 had a persistent pain with no difference between day and night, 23 had an intermittent pain, and 11 had a nocturnal pain. Of the 71 patients, 42 had an initial pain related to trauma, and 3 of the 42 patients had a pathologic fracture. The patients with the local mass had a delayed diagnosis of osteogenic sarcoma with a delayed duration of 1-14 weeks, averaged 4 weeks; however, the patients without the local mass had a delayed diagnosis of this disease, with a delayed duration of 3-30 weeks averaged 14 weeks. In the patients undergoing an X-ray examination at the first medical visit, the duration of the delayed diagnoses was 1-20 weeks, averaged 8 weeks, but in the patients without an X-ray examination at first, the duration was 4-30 weeks, averaged 16 weeks.

Intermittent and persistent pains and local masses are the most characteristic clinical manifestations in the early stage of osteogenic sarcoma. A history of trauma often helps to make a diagnosis of the disease. Careful clinical examination and observation should be given to adolescent patients who have a recurrent pain around the joint.