Only immunohistochemical staining above 30% was classified as HER-2 overexpression. 8 , 13 Statistical analysis All the variables were described by absolute and relative frequencies, except for age which was described by mean and standard KOS 953 deviation. To compare the groups we applied the student’s t-test (age) and Fisher’s exact test (other variables). To estimate the survival curves, the Kaplan-Meier method was applied and to compare them we used the log-rank test. The sample size was calculated in PEPI (Programs for Epidemiologists) version 4.0 and based on the study by Kaya et al. 4 For a significance level of 5% (p �� 0.05), a power of 90%, a survival proportion of 90% in the VEGF negative group and a proportion of 20% in the VEGF positive group, we obtained a minimum total of 22 patients.
The analyses were performed in the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) program, version 18.0. RESULTS The results of this study are summarized in Tables 1 and and22. Table 1 Significance of the variables compared with the expression of VEGF. Table 2 Significance of the variables compared with the expression of HER-2. Fifteen patients were male and 12 female, with average age of 13 years (seven to 27 years). The cases were divided by age into over (n=21) and under (n=6) 14, considering a greater or lesser risk of tumor aggressiveness. Thirteen individuals concluded the Brazilian protocol (GBTO), nine remained in treatment during this study 3 and five did not have data in their medical records. All osteosarcomas were staged as IIB and III according to Enneking’s Staging System.
14 Eight patients (30%) presented pulmonary metastases upon diagnosis and were classified as stage III. None of the patients presented a description of non-pulmonary metastases. The histological subtypes were described according to the WHO – Classification of Bone Tumors, 2002. 15 The classification of Huvos-Ayala was used to describe the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy as poor (I-II) and good (III-IV). 16 More than half of the patients (56%) presented poor response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy treatment, while 22% presented good response and another 22% did not present records of anatomopathological examinations. Table 1 describes all the clinical and pathological variables analyzed. The follow-up interval was recorded from initial biopsy until July 2009.
The minimum follow-up period was six months. Only four samples (15%) presented overexpression of VEGF. All the samples positive for VEGF Batimastat were found in the male sex, and over 14 years. Three quarters (75%) of the patients who overexpressed VEGF presented pulmonary metastases, inferring a theoretical risk for worse prognosis already described in previous publications. 4 , 7 Table 1 summarizes the correlation between VEGF and the variables analyzed. We did not find significant correlation when conducting descriptive and univariate analyses.
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