[Primary malignant tumors of the sternum]

Primary tumors of the sternum are rare and account only 0.5% of all primary bone tumors. They are often malignant, osteolytic and aggressive. They often present difficulties in management.

to determine clinical, pathological and therapeutic characteristics for primary malignant tumors of the sternum.

We report a series of six cases of primary malignant tumors of the sternum, collected in our institution between 1993 and 2009.

There were 4 men and 2 women with a mean age of 69, 5 years. Parietal swelling was the most frequent symptom. Imaging showed a sternal lytic lesion. Three tumors were treated surgically. Associated treatments were neoadjuvant chemotherapy (1 case) and postoperative radiotherapy (1 case). A medical treatment (radiotherapy alone or chemotherapy) was performed in 3 cases. These tumors were divided as below: 3 plasmacytoma, 1 chondrosarcoma, 1 osteosarcoma and 1 large B cell lymphoma.

The management of primary malignant tumors of the sternum is multidisciplinary. It depends on the histological type, the possibility of surgical treatment and the distant and local aggressiveness.