Treatment of osteogenic sarcoma of the mandible.

Osteogenic sarcoma of the mandible is a rare tumor, comprising less than 0.5% of all head and neck tumors, and, even in large institutions, the experience in management of such tumors is limited. Current therapy for osteogenic sarcoma of the long bones is based on a more extensive experience in large centers and includes a major role for chemotherapy. We report two cases of osteogenic sarcoma of the mandible that were treated by combined chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and surgery. The expected disease-free survival of patients with this disease, treated by surgery alone, would have been less then 50% in the first year. The survival of these two consecutive patients for more than one year, free of disease, is significant and encourages further use of this type of treatment.