Giant-Cell Bone Tumour With Pulmonary Metastases: A Case Report

Giant-cell tumour of bone (GCTB) which represents 5% of all primary bone tumours is encountered in patients between 20 - 40 years of age. Bones adjacent to the knee, the distal end of the radius and occasionally the sacrum or pelvis are the usual sites for these tumours.GCTB was discovered accidentally in 1987 in a 30-year-old male patient who had an operation due to a traumatic right forearm fracture. Neither pulmonary nor other organ involvement had been described at that time. In 1990, the patient admitted to our hospital due to shortness of breath with abnormal chest X-ray. 10x11cm. solid mass and pleural effusion in the right hemithorax were seen at the thorax computed tomography. Transthoracic fine needle aspiration biopsy was reported as a pulmonary metastases of giant-cell bone tumour. Chemotherapy was applied, but there was not complete response to the chemotherapy. In 1995, the patient was operated second time on the right radius because of local recurrence. Till 1998, he had no any respiratory system com­plaints. Then the patient had sudden onset of dyspnoea and chest pain. He died due to pulmonary embolism in the third day of hos­pitalisation. Giant-cell bone tumour is generally classified as a benign tumour. In 1957, for the first time, Lasser and Tetewsky reported pulmonary metastases although there was no histopatho- logically malignant transformation. Because pulmonary metastases of GCTB is rare and he had long and comfortable life with his pul­monary metastases, we wanted to present our patient.