RESUMO
Multidisciplinary treatment of osteosarcoma in the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, using preoperative intraarterial and postoperative chemotherapy, with or without local irradiation, combined with surgery and prophylactic lung irradiation provided an excellent 5 years' survival of 55 per cent, the same rate as the 9 years' survival. The survival was stable after 4.4 years. The patients with local irradiation had more tumor destruction apparent on the surgical specimen. The administration of prophylactic whole lung irradiation provided an outcome without any undesirable complication. Sixteen per cent of the cases with PLI developed lung metastasis compared to 48 per cent without PLI. The most important prognostic factor was low level of serum lactic acid dehydrogenase. The unanswered question is what is the optimal treatment for osteosarcoma?