Osteosarcoma of rib in a seven-year-old child: a case report

Primary tumours of ribs are relatively uncommon in adults and are even rarer in children. (William in Am Surg June: 338-342, 1972; Eskenasy in Rev Roum Morph Embryol Physio 1:35-50, 1985) Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone malignancy in children and young adults. (Whelan in Eur J Can 33(10):1611-1619, 1997) Very few cases of osteosacoma of the rib have been described in literature. We report a 7-year-old girl with primary osteosarcoma of the rib which was managed by wide excision followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. She is disease free after 12 months of follow-up. We believe our case to be the youngest with primary osteosarcoma of the rib. Primary osteosarcoma of the rib should be considered in the differential diagnosis in a child with rib swelling. Early diagnosis and treatment improves the outcome.