TY - JOUR T1 - Radiotherapy for Giant Cell Tumors of the Bone: A Safe and Effective Treatment Modality JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 2069 LP - 2073 VL - 32 IS - 5 AU - JAN KRIZ AU - HANS THEODOR EICH AU - RALPH MÜCKE AU - JENS BÜNTZEL AU - ROLF-PETER MÜLLER AU - FRANK BRUNS AU - M. HEINRICH SEEGENSCHMIEDT AU - GEORG GOSHEGER AU - OLIVER MICKE AU - for the German Cooperative Group on Radiotherapy for Benign Diseases (GCG-BD) Y1 - 2012/05/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/32/5/2069.abstract N2 - Background: Giant cell tumor of the bone (GCTB) is a benign or sometimes semi-malignant neoplasm accounting for 5% of all primary bone tumors. This type of tumor has been historically considered as radioresistant, but nowadays radiotherapy (RT) is used in unresectable, recurrent or incompletely resected cases. Since the value of RT is not well defined, a national cohort study was conducted. Patients and Methods: Six German institutions collected data from 35 patients treated during the last 35 years and analyzed them. Results: From 1975-2010 16 male and 19 female patients with 39 lesions were irradiated for GCTB. The median age was 30 years and the median follow-up 65 months. Nineteen patients had undergone RT for recurrent or unresectable disease and 16 patients for non-in-sano resection. The actuarial 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 90% and 59%, respectively. Conclusion: RT is an easy, safe and effective method for the treatment of GCTB. It may provide an attractive alternative to mutilating surgery. ER -