Osteogenic sarcoma in four siblings.

In 1935 Roberts and Roberts reported the occurrence of osteogenic sarcoma in nonidentical siblings (one brother and two sisters) with no previous chronic bone disorder. In this report fibrosarcoma and osteogenic sarcoma were included : one tumour was diagnosed as fibrosarcoma, one as sclerosing osteogenic sarcoma, and one as round-cell osteogenic sarcoma. A year later the occurrence of osteogenic sarcoma in two sisters was reported by Pohle, Stovall and Boyer (1936). The two cases were diagnosed pathologically as osteolytic osteogenic sarcoma. Before this Werner (1930) reported osteogenic sarcoma developing in three members of a family whose members were prone to multiple fractures. Barry (1961) reported osteogenic sarcoma arising in members of the same family in association with Paget’s disease. Roberts and Roberts suggested a genetic origin for these tumours, but this is not generally accepted. This paper reports the occurrence of osteogenic sarcoma in four siblings. The family consisted of normal parents and eight siblings, four of whom have not so far shown any evidence of malignant disease. The only history of malignant disease in the family was in a paternal uncle and the paternal grandmother, both of whom died of metastatic cancer, but the primary sites are not known. The case histories of the four affected siblings follow.