Giant cell sarcoma was apparently first recognized in 1845 by Lebert.1 Paget,2 in 1853, and Nelaton,3 in 1860, described this lesion, and Robin,4 in 1850, described benign tumors of bones containing large giant cells, which he identified with marrow giant cells. In 1879, Gross5 analyzed seventy cases of giant cell sarcoma, describing their features and emphasizing their benign nature.
In America, the giant cell tumors were not regarded as malignant until 1910 when Bloodgood emphasized their benign character. In 1920, he6 reported forty-seven cases in none of which metastasis had occurred. In 1920, Codman7 established a general registry for bone sarcoma which stimulated interest in tumors of the bone, but the actual etiology and pathogenesis have never been worked out. Codman stated that over a hundred cases of giant cell tumor had been registered without a true case of metastasis. Chatterton and Flagstad,8 in 1927, reported two cases of giant