Outcome of treatment for osteosarcoma of the extremities over the last 20 years: Report from 11 referral centers in Japan

The survival of patients with osteosarcoma has improved dramatically due to the introduction of effective systemic chemotherapy. The key standard drugs for osteosarcoma chemotherapy are methotrexate, doxorubicin, and cisplatin, and multi-institutional trials based on these drugs have been conducted in Japan since the 1990s. However, there have been no nationwide data on treatment outcome, especially with regard to survival and prognostic factors. In this chapter, therefore, we present data from a large nationwide cohort of patients with osteosarcoma treated at 11 referral centers in Japan during the period 1990-2010 with special reference to survival and relevant prognostic factors. The 3-, 5-, and 10-year metastasis-free survival and overall survival rates for the 529 patients were 70 %, 64 %, and 62 % and 88 %, 83 %, and 77 %, respectively. The prognosis for patients with osteosarcoma in Japan was comparable to, or slightly better than, those reported in other countries. International collaboration should also be conducted in Asian countries including Japan to improve the outcome further and find the optimal treatment for osteosarcoma.