Chondrosarcoma of the head in children

Chondrosarcoma usually manifests in adult and elderly patients and involves primarily the long bones of the extremities and the osseous pelvis. Children and adolescents may be affected, however. In the young, these neoplasms tend to grow in atypical anatomic sites. A review of clinical experience at a pediatric institution disclosed three chondrosarcomas, including one of mesenchymal type, arising in tissues of the head in patients aged 15, 9, and 13 years. From a review of the pertinent literature as well as clinical experience, it appears that pediatric pathologists are apt to encounter chondrosarcomas rarely, and in those cases the clinical and pathologic features are at variance with those described for chondrosarcoma in adult patients. Low-grade lesions may pursue an indolent course, necessitating prolonged surveillance.