Primary extraosseous osteogenic sarcoma in the retroperitoneal space. A case report and review of the literature.

One case of primary, extraosseous osteogenic sarcoma in the retroperitoneal region is presented, which is the tenth case hitherto reported in the literature. The 3 females and 7 males reported had a median age at diagnosis of 59 1/2 years. The tumours were all large at diagnosis and the symptoms short and uncharacteristic. There was no characteristic set of laboratory or roentgenologic findings; 2 of the 10 cases had elevation of alkaline phosphatase, and in 4 cases roentgen examination revealed tumour calcifications. The prognosis was poor and 8 of the 10 patients died, with a median survival of 9 1/2 months. In 3 cases, surgery was supplemented by chemotherapy without obvious improvement in survival.