Dedifferentiated Primary Parosteal Osteosarcoma of the Temporal Bone in a 19-Year-Old Patient: A Case Report

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant tumor affecting the bone but is a rare occurrence in the head and neck region. Complete surgical resection with wide surgical margins is currently the main treatment strategy for osteosarcoma but can be hard to achieve due to the complex anatomy of the head and neck. We report the first case of primary high-grade dedifferentiated parosteal osteosarcoma arising from the temporal bone in published literature. The 19-year-old patient presented with a left retroauricular lesion measuring 3 cm in diameter. Radiographic imaging and biopsy suggested the diagnosis of intermediate-grade chondrosarcoma, but definitive histopathology confirmed a diagnosis of dedifferentiated parosteal osteosarcoma. The tumor was resected with wide margins, removing the underlying temporal bone, periosteum and overlying soft tissue through a lateral temporal bone resection. The middle ear was reconstructed with cartilage grafting, and the dura of the posterior and middle cranial fossa was covered using temporal fascia grafts and local transpositional flaps. The patient is recurrence free 10 months after treatment. This report was assembled following CARE [The CARE guidelines (for Case Reports)] guidelines and describes clinical, histological, and radiological manifestations of our patient’s rare clinical entity and may provide more data in treating patients with osteosarcoma affecting the anatomically complex head-and-neck region.