Comparison of clinical and functional outcome between surgical treatment and carbon ion radiotherapy for pelvic chondrosarcoma

As there are no reports of studies in patients with pelvic chondrosarcoma treated with carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT), the aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of CIRT for patients with chondrosarcoma of the pelvis. The medical records of 31 patients with chondrosarcoma of the pelvis treated either by surgical resection or by CIRT between 1983 and 2014 were reviewed. There were 22 males and 9 females with a median age of 43 years (range 16-77 years). The median duration of follow-up was 66 months (range 5-289 months). Twenty-four patients underwent surgery, and 7 patients received CIRT (70.4 GyE in 16 fractions over 4 weeks). The overall local recurrence rate was 32 %, and the estimated overall 5- and 10-year survival rates were 72 and 57 %, respectively. The mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society functional score was 59 %. The treatment procedures (surgery or CIRT) did not affect overall survival (P = 0.347). However, the patients who underwent surgery had impaired function compared with those who received CIRT (P = 0.03). Although more patients need to be monitored to assess the clinical and functional outcomes of CIRT for patients with chondrosarcoma of the pelvis, this treatment might offer an acceptable alternative.