Skeletal tumors in children and adolescents.

Children and adolescents are not spared any of the skeletal neoplasms. The frequency is variable: The majority of patients with osteosarcoma are less than 20 years of age, but the majority of patients with chondrosarcoma are more than 20. The differential diagnosis of tumors of bone is often difficult because of confusion of these tumors with disorderly responses to injury. The radiographic features are important in the diagnosis of these lesions and in the differentiation of these lesions from other tumors of bone. Little information about differences, if any, in biologic behavior is available. Nevertheless, pathologists, pediatricians, radiologists, and orthopedists must keep in mind the wide range of skeletal neoplasms that may occur in children and adolescents. Advances in the treatment of malignant tumors of bone, particularly osteosarcoma, have made it imperative on pathologists to provide accurate diagnoses and interpretations of the effects of treatment on these neoplasms.