[Chondrosarcoma of the ribs: report of two cases]

Chondrosarcoma of rib origin is relatively rare in Japan. Two patients with chondrosarcoma of rib origin were treated surgically. Case 1: A 79-year-old male, 4 years ago, he noticed a tumor in the left anteroinferior part of the chest. The histological examination of the specimen obtained by incisional biopsy showed osteochondroma in another hospital and he had been under observation. Since the tumor has recently increased in size, he was referred to our department. Radical resection of the chest wall was performed. As expected, the tumor was found to be a secondary chondrosarcoma by postoperative histological examination. Case 2: A 49-year-old female. In the follow up studies after radical nephrectomy, Tc-MDP scintigram revealed an accumulation in the left second rib. Under the diagnosis of rib metastasis, radical resection was performed. The histological examination showed chondrosarcoma of rib origin postoperatively. This lesion was a primary central type, and is considered to have been resected in the earliest stage of all cases we have found in the Japanese literature.