Radiotherapy and surgery in 50 cases of osteosarcoma treated without adjuvant chemotherapy

A consecutive series of osteosarcoma patients from one hospital is described. In 1962 radiotherapy with delayed surgery according to Cade was replacing surgery alone as the adopted treatment programme. Statistically the results were the same before and after this time with 5 out of 29 and 6 out of 21 patients, respectively, surviving 5 years. With radiation alone none out of eight survived. Surgery alone produced 3 out of 14 and radiation with delayed surgery 6 survivors out of 15. As surgery with or without radiotherapy is equally ineffective in controlling osteosarcoma a prospective randomized trial of the relative merits of chemotherapy and interferon as adjuvant therapy seems highly desirable.