This 1976 case series from Memorial Sloan-Kettering enrolled 20 patients with biopsy-proven osteosarcoma of the distal femur or proximal tibia to test whether intensive preoperative chemotherapy (high-dose methotrexate + adriamycin) could shrink primary tumors enough to permit en bloc resection with prosthetic reconstruction, avoiding amputation.
This landmark study introduced the limb salvage approach that became standard care for extremity osteosarcoma.
The principles established here—preoperative chemotherapy to assess tumor response, achieving wide surgical margins, and prosthetic reconstruction—remain central to contemporary osteosarcoma management.
This 1976 case series from Memorial Sloan-Kettering enrolled 20 patients with biopsy-proven osteosarcoma of the distal femur or proximal tibia to test whether intensive preoperative chemotherapy (high-dose methotrexate + adriamycin) could shrink primary tumors enough to permit en bloc resection with prosthetic reconstruction, avoiding amputation.
This landmark study introduced the limb salvage approach that became standard care for extremity osteosarcoma.
The principles established here—preoperative chemotherapy to assess tumor response, achieving wide surgical margins, and prosthetic reconstruction—remain central to contemporary osteosarcoma management.