Surgical management of 144 diffuse‐type TGCT patients in a single institution: A 20‐year cohort study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for tenosynovial giant cell tumors (TGCTs). However, achieving a cure through surgery alone remains challenging, especially for the diffuse‐type (D‐TGCT). METHODS: Our goal was to describe the surgical management of patients with D‐TGCT related to large joints, treated between 2000 and 2020. We analyzed the effect of (in)complete resections and the presence of postoperative tumor (POT) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on radiological and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 144 patients underwent open surgery for D‐TGCT, of which 58 (40%) had treatment before. The median follow‐up was 65 months. One hundred twenty‐five patients underwent isolated open surgeries, in which 25 (20%) patients' D‐TGCT was intentionally removed incompletely. POT presence on the first postoperative MRI was observed in 64%. Both incomplete resections and POT presence were associated with higher rates of radiological progression (73% vs. 44%; Kaplan–Meier [KM] analysis p = 0.021) and 59% versus 7%; KM analysis p < 0.001), respectively. Furthermore, patients with POT presence clinically worsened more often than patients without having POT (49% vs. 24%; KM analysis p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: D‐TGCT is often resected incompletely and tumor presence is commonly observed on the first postoperative MRI, resulting in worse radiological and clinical outcomes. Therefore, surgeons should try to remove D‐TGCT in toto and consider other multimodal therapeutic strategies.