Adamantinoma: an unusual bone tumour.

Adamantinoma is a rare tumour, which most often affects the tibia and produces lytic and sometimes destructive lesions, which can cause fractures. The lesions occur principally in adults and are more common in males. A small percentage of the patients develop metastases, sometimes quite late in the course. Our institution has treated 42 patients with adamantinomas since 1972 and has evaluated them by imaging studies and histology. The majority of the patients were treated by resection of the lesion and insertion of an intercalary allograft. Only three of the patients died of disease with the time until death ranging from 10 to 17 years. Recurrence occurred in only three patients and the allograft success rate in terms of function was 71% at a mean time of 10 years.