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osteosarcoma is the most common malignant bone tumor, but it is rare before adolescence. The clinical behavior of the tumor that develops in pre-adolescents may differ from that seen during adolescence.

This is a retrospective study of pre-adolescents with osteosarcoma diagnosed in a tertiary-level hospital. The patients were compared with adolescents diagnosed during the same period.

we analyzed 149 patients (forty-four pre-adolescents). The diagnostic interval median was 7 weeks in pre-adolescents and 12 weeks in adolescents (p = 0.002). Forty-four patients had metastases at diagnosis (ten pre-adolescents) (p = 0.23). Limb-salvage surgery was performed on sixteen patients (two pre-adolescents). Fifty-six patients (thirteen pre-adolescents) abandoned the treatment (p = 0.18). Overall survival was 63 months in pre-adolescents and 52 months in adolescents (p = 0.301).

We only found differences in the diagnostic interval, which was shorter in pre-adolescent patients. Studies with a larger number of pre-adolescents are necessary to determine the differences in the characteristics of the disease in adolescent patients.