Giant cell tumors of bone: nonsurgical factors associated with local recurrence.

Abstract

To determine the rate of giant cell tumor (GCT) recurrence and evaluate the factors associated with its recurrence in patients who underwent surgery and submitted to only one adjuvant method. Forty-one patients (22 female, 19 male; mean age: 34.22 ± 9.70 years) with GCT, who underwent surgical and one adjuvant treatment, were evaluated after a mean follow-up period of 40.17 ± 22.08 months. The average tumor size was 8.51 ± 3.69 cm. The tumors in 18 patients (43.9%) were grade II and in 23 patients (56.1%) grade III, according to the system developed by Campanacci et al. The surgical margin was intralesional resection and curettage in 60.9% of the patients, and marginal or wide resection in 39.1%. Nine (22%) of the 41 patients had recurrence. None of the gender (p=0.436), age (p=0.310), site of the tumor (p=0.940), surgical margins (p=0.400) and the type of the filling material (PMMA or autograft) (p=0.680) had an association with recurrence. However, Campanacci grade III (p=0.028) and the size of the tumor (p=0.034) was associated with the recurrence. Tumor size and tumor grade III according to the Campanacci system appear to be risk factors for local recurrence after the local resection of GCT.