A case of chondrosarcoma of the maxilla is reported that has demonstrated an objective remission for two years after supervoltage irradiation.
HONDROSARCOMAS AKE ONLY HALF AS COM-
C mon as osteogenic sarcomas, and primary involvement of the maxilla is particularly rare. A review of the English literature disclosed only 16 reported cases, and, with few exceptions, this tumor was termed completely "radioresistant." T h e following case is reported because it demonstrates objective response of a documented chondrosarcoma to supervoltage radiation therapy.
CASE REPORT
W. B., a 15-year-old Indian girl, had noted progressive swelling of the right side of the face associated with frontal headaches and symptoms of nasal obstruction since 1964. By November 1967, the right and left nares were closed by tumor, the nasopharynx was filled with tumor, and the right eustachian tube was occluded. There was gross protrusion of tumor through the hard palate into the mouth, the maxillary sinus was opacified, and there was destruction of the floor of the orbit and the anterior ethmoid sinuses. T h e coronal sutures were spread, suggesting invasion of the anterior cranial fossa. A biopsy revealed welldifferentiated chondrosarcoma. Headaches, local infection, and epistaxis continued, and, in January 1969, vision was lost from the proptotic right eye.
In June 1969, the patient was referred for consideration of radiation therapy. At this