Musculoskeletal Tumor Program

The Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children’s Musculoskeletal Tumor Program brings together the expertise of the Department of Orthopedics and several related medical and surgical specialties in order to offer the most efficient and effective care for children with both benign and malignant bone and soft tissue tumors. The same multidisciplinary approach to patient care that has proven so successful for children with complex developmental orthopedic problems is applied to the evaluation and management of these challenging tumors. Each patient receives, before surgery, a complete evaluation, including all necessary diagnostic tests. The Program works with the Hematology/Oncology staff when malignancies are present. Following surgery, the Program works closely with the family and the referring physician to provide rehabilitation and long-term follow-up care. The pediatric expertise of the physicians, coupled with the child-centered, family-oriented atmosphere of the duPont Hospital for Children, help minimize the stress families and patients may experience throughout the evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation process.

The hospital is a member of the Children’s Cancer Group, a national cooperative research organization that develops and tests innovative surgical and medical treatments for pediatric and adolescent cancers. Through this association, the Musculoskeletal Tumor Program offers the most up-to-date treatment for these rare and challenging cancers.

Services Available:

• Tumor staging
• Medical imaging evaluation as needed (including computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, and ultrasound)
• Diagnostic biopsy
• Definitive management to include resection, excision, and reconstruction
• Reconstruction options including conventional grafts, large segment allografts, modular and custom endoprosthetic replacement
• Prosthetic fabrication and fitting provided for patients requiring ablations

Typical Diagnoses/Problems:

• Special experience and expertise with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia
• A variety of benign childhood bone tumors including:
  • Unicameral bone cyst
  • Aneurysmal bone cyst
  • Chondroblastoma
  • Fibroxanthoma
• Extensive experience in malignant bone tumors including:
  • Osteogenic sarcoma
  • Ewings sarcoma

To read more about the Children’s Cancer Group, visit the CureSearch web site at http://www.curesearch.org