General Information

The Muskuloskeletal Tumor Surgery Service is a specialization unit at the Department of Trauma & Reconstructive Surgery, Charité, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Director: Prof. Dr. N. P. Haas). We are a team of orthopedic and trauma-/reconstructive surgeons (Head: Dr. I. Melcher) and the focus of our activities is the consultation, diagnostics, surgical/ multimodal therapy and postoperative care of patients suffering from bone and soft tissue tumors as well as bone metastasis.

A variety of causative factors may be involved in the genesis of neoplastic disorders and so called "tumor-like lesions" of the bone and soft tissue, including inflammation, metabolic dysfunction, disturbances in tissue perfusion, hormonal dysbalance, disorders of other/ remote organ systems, and developmental malformation.
The original bone and soft tissue tumors, in particular the malignant types are very rare. Thus, the clinical expierence in terms of relevant diagnostic and therapeutic measures is relatively limited and restricted to selected tumor centers.
Therefore, the referral of patients with bone or soft tissue tumors to such speciality tumor-centers is the absolute precondition for optimal and effective treatment of musculoskeletal cancer and allied diseases. Thereby it is ensured that the patient is treated in an interdisciplinary diagnostic and therapeutic approach. In the context of this interdisciplinary management a detailed tumor- and patient-specific treatment concept is developed, simultaneously involving experts from the fields of oncology, radiology, radiotherapy, pathology, psycology and orthopedic/-reconstructive surgery.
There is no doubt concerning the principle: "A patient with suspicion of bone- or soft tissue tumor should be referred to a specific tumor center prior to any biopsy." The open or incisional biopsy remains the key step in the diagnosis of neoplastic bone and soft tissue lesions. An inadequately performed biopsy could lead to wrong diagnosis, may have a direct impact on survival and ultimately necessitate amputation to accomplish adequate margins of resection.

We are convinced that the fundamental basis for these psychologically, emotionally and physically exhausting and demanding therapies is an absolute and unreserved relationship of mutual trust between the patient and the involved physicians. This confidence already starts with the consultation and information of the patient about all tumor-specific treatment options, including the relative advantages and disadvantages as well as possible complications. The relationship continues with the accompanying support of the patient throughout all periods of different treatment stages (radiotherapy, oncology). It is finally characterized by the tumor-specific care following termination of all therapeutic measures. Several specific types of malignant tumors are treated worldwide according to internationally standardized therapy concepts/ guidelines, as exemplified by the osteosarcoma (COSS-96- protocol) and the tumors of the Ewing-family (EURO-EWING-99-protocol).

At the tumor-center of the Charité, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin all modern treatment options and procedures for both diagnostic decision-making and multimodal therapy of patients with bone and/or soft tissue tumors are established and successfully applied.

Difficult, unusual and complicated cases and patients are presented and discussed at the weekly performed interdisciplinary tumor conferences in order to optimize the diagnostic and therapeutic measures.