fibroblastic osteosarcoma

A high grade spindle-cell malignancy with only minimal amounts of osseous matrix with or without cartilage is the hallmark of fibroblastic osteosarcoma.

In general, the overall histological appearance is similar to fibrosarcoma or malignant fibrous histiocytoma.

However, its loose definition (i.e., minimal matrix) makes fibroblastic osteosarcoma a de facto default classification.

There are many additional unusual morphological forms of osteosarcoma, but lacking unique biological properties, they are merely considered forms or subtypes of the three major groups.

In many cases the lack of significant amounts of osteoid, bone or cartilage relegates them to subtypes of fibroblastic osteosarcoma.

Historically, there has been little, if any, prognostic significance to such subtyping of conventional osteosarcoma.

Rather, it has been an arguably artificial method of imparting some order to conventional osteosarcoma.

However, recent data appear to indicate that there are some predictable survival differences between subtypes when contemporary multi-disciplinary therapy is employed.