eMedicine Specialties > Radiology > Musculoskeletal

Osteoblastoma: Follow-up

Author: Erin O'Connor, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, Temple University
Coauthor(s): Gregory Scott Stacy, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, University of Chicago Hospitals
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Dec 19, 2008

Intervention

Medicolegal Pitfalls

  • Most of the medical and/or legal pitfalls that are associated with osteoblastomas result from the often nonspecific radiographic appearance of these tumors. In many patients, analysis of biopsy specimens is necessary for a definitive diagnosis.
    • If a radiologist is asked to perform a biopsy in a suspected osteoblastoma, the orthopedic surgeon should be consulted first.
    • If the biopsy specimen reveals osteosarcoma instead of osteoblastoma, a biopsy-induced contaminated needle tract can result in a difficult operation for both the surgeon and the patient.
  • Malignant (aggressive) osteoblastoma can arise in patients who have a recurrent osteoblastoma with a more aggressive histologic appearance than that of the tumor that was originally excised.
  • Some authors report examples of osteosarcoma that resemble osteoblastoma at histologic analysis. Therefore, they hypothesize that such tumors may be the same as those labeled as malignant or aggressive osteoblastoma.
  • The major diagnostic problem is in differentiating malignant or aggressive osteoblastoma from osteosarcoma on the basis of the pathologic features because the diagnosis markedly changes treatment in patients.
 


More on Osteoblastoma

Overview: Osteoblastoma
Imaging: Osteoblastoma
Follow-up: Osteoblastoma
Multimedia: Osteoblastoma
References
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Further Reading

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Keywords

osteoblastoma, giant osteoid osteoma, bone neoplasm, osteoid osteoma, bone tumor, primary bone tumor, benign bone tumor, benign lesion of the bone, scoliosis, matrix mineralization

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Erin O'Connor, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, Temple University
Erin O'Connor, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Radiological Society of North America
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Gregory Scott Stacy, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, University of Chicago Hospitals
Gregory Scott Stacy, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Radiology, American Medical Association, American Roentgen Ray Society, Radiological Society of North America, and Society of Skeletal Radiology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Medical Editor

Michael A Bruno, MD, Associate Professor, Departments of Radiology and Medicine, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine; Director, Radiology Quality Management Services, Milton S Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
Michael A Bruno, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Radiology, American Roentgen Ray Society, Association of University Radiologists, Radiological Society of North America, Society of Nuclear Medicine, and Society of Skeletal Radiology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Bernard D Coombs, MB, ChB, PhD, Consulting Staff, Department of Specialist Rehabilitation Services, Hutt Valley District Health Board, New Zealand
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Murali Sundaram, MBBS, FRCR, FACR, Consulting Staff, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Robert M Krasny, MD, Consulting Staff, Department of Radiology, The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute
Robert M Krasny, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Roentgen Ray Society and Radiological Society of North America
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Felix S Chew, MD, MBA, EdM, Professor, Department of Radiology, Vice Chairman for Radiology Informatics, Section Head of Musculoskeletal Radiology, University of Washington
Felix S Chew, MD, MBA, EdM is a member of the following medical societies: American Roentgen Ray Society, Association of University Radiologists, and Radiological Society of North America
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

 
 
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