Surgical treatment of giant cell tumour of long bone with anhydrous alcohol adjuvant

This study was designed to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of the use of anhydrous alcohol as an adjuvant treatment for giant cell tumours (GCTs) of long bone. Between October 1989 and January 2004, 42 GCT patients were treated and followed up for an average of 4.1 years (range 1-13 years). Mean patient age was 34 years (range 17-67 years). After curettage and additional burring, anhydrous alcohol was used as an adjuvant therapy in all patients before the bone defect was filled with bone graft or cement. Four patients (9.5%) experienced local recurrence. There were no alcohol-related complications. Recurrence-free probability was 87.6% at final follow-up (13 years) after index surgery by Kaplan-Meyer analysis. Our data suggest that anhydrous alcohol can be used as an effective safe adjuvant for the treatment of GCT of long bone.