CHONDROSARCOMAS OF THE HAND: A REPORT OF THREE CASES

Chondrosarcoma of the hand is very rare. We report three observations of chondrosarcoma of the hand, which enable us to make a review of its pathology. The follow-up was up to 2 years.There were two women and one man with an average age of 48 years old (30, 85 and 31). The localisation was phalangeal in two cases and metacarpal in one case, one case followed for chondroma. The three cases were central. X-rays were characterized by the presence of lytic areas with calcifications and in one case, we showed a calcification in the peripheral tissue. Histological diagnosis was made by biopsy (grade 2 in two cases and grade 1 in one case). Treatment consisted of amputation of the finger in two cases. In the case of metacarpal localization, wide resection of concerned ray. The patients showed no local recurrence and no metastatic spread after 2 years.The chondrosarcoma in the hand may due to malignant change in a pre-existing chondroma. He is the most common malignant bone tumor of the hand. This shows that the diagnosis of a chondrosarcoma can only be made in the synopsis of the radiological, histological and clinical findings.The metastasis of hand chondrosarcomas is very rare but has been described. With regard to the local recurrence rate, the data in the literature varies between 11% and 50%. Conservative treatment is difficult due to the small size of the hand, which allows easy spread of the tumor from compartment to compartment.Despite the low metastatic potential of chondrosarcomas of the hand in comparison with other sites, ray resection or digital amputation is recommended to avoid local recurrence. In cases with only local excision, close follow-up is recommended.