The epidemiology of musculoskeletal tumors in Aseer Central Hospital, south of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Musculoskeletal neoplasms lead to significantly high morbidity and mortality rates among cases. Musculoskeletal tumors (MSTs) are relatively uncommon. The current study aimed to assess the magnitude, pattern, and predictors of MSTs among cases. Methodology: A record-based retrospective approach was applied for the current study. The study was conducted at Aseer Central Hospital. Medical records for patients with complete files and no errors and confirmed cases of any type of musculoskeletal tumor were included during the period from 2018 to 2020. Data on both patient and tumor, including patient’s demographic data, such as name, gender, and age, were collected. Results: The study included 69 cases with MSTs. The cases’ age ranged from 8 to 72 years, with a mean age of 31.5 ± 16.3 years. There were 35 female (50.7%) and 34 male (49.3%) participants. The femur was the most reported site for MSTs in the study (30.4%; 21), followed by foot and tibia (11.6%; 8 for each), hand (7.2%; 5), and elbow (5.8%; 4). The most recorded diagnosis was osteochondroma (12.7%), followed by ganglion cyst (9.1%), Ewing’s sarcoma (7.3%), soft tissue sarcoma (5.5%), osteosarcoma (5.5%), lipoma (5.5%), chondroblastoma (5.5%), non-ossifying fibroma (3.6%), benign lesion (3.6%), and Giant cell tumours (3.6%). Conclusions: This study revealed that most of the diagnosed MSTs among the studied cases were benign (osteochondroma and ganglion cyst) with uniform distribution of incidence by age and gender. Also, lower extremities were the most reported sites for MSTs, followed by upper extremities.