[Treatment of primary bone sarcoma of the jaws]

Head and neck bone sarcomas are very uncommon tumors. Therefore, treatment modalities are not clearly established. The medical record of 12 patients with bone sarcoma of the jaw were reviewed. Six patients with osteosarcoma underwent primary chemotherapy followed by wide surgical resection, radiation therapy or combined radiosurgical treatment. The 2 and 5 years survivals were 66% and 40% respectively. Five patients with chondrosarcoma were treated by wide surgical resection alone or combined with postoperative radiotherapy and possibly chemotherapy. All patients were alive; the mean follow-up was 9 years. One patient had Ewing's tumor. Osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma in head and neck patients have a high rate of local recurrences. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment. Patients with voluminous tumors and high-grade lesions should receive postoperative radiotherapy. The role of chemotherapy has not been defined.