Growth in the lower limb following chemotherapy for a malignant primary bone tumour: a straight-line graph

Purpose. The aim of this paper was to assess the growth in the unaffected lower limb of children who had received chemotherapy for a malignant primary bone tumour around the knee.Subjects/methods. Following diagnosis, all children (45, of which 32 were boys and 13 were girls) were staged. If limb-salvage surgery was thought appropriate, measured radiographs of both legs was performed, the bone age was estimated and the expected growth in the femur and tibia was calculated according to Tupman. These procedures were repeated at follow-up and the data plotted. Regression and correlation coefficients were also calculated.Results. The observed regression line in boys was almost identical to Tupman's curve. However, the observed growth in girls was larger than the expected growth.Discussion. It is recommended that the regression lines presented here are used in the calculation of the expected growth in the lower limb of children who have received chemotherapy for a malignant primary bone tumour, especially in girls.