Investigation of Giant Cell Tumour of bone

This study is a molecular mechanistic study. Excess giant cell tumour (GCT) tissue, obtained by surgical removal of the tumour from patients, will to be used for research purposes. The trial is expected to run for up to ten years, but will cease when adequate numbers have been recruited. We aim to investigate what cells constitute the stromal component of GCT, how do the osteoclastic cells alter the functional activity of the stromal cells, and what impact does this have on our understanding of the link between bone formation and bone resorption in normal bone homeostasis. Fresh tissue samples will be used for several purposes: 1) to isolate the giant cells (osteoclasts) and the stromal cell component of the tumour and culture these cells in vitro to investigate the cellular biology of GCT; 2) embedded tissue will be cut to enable immunohistochemical and histological examination of the tumour; 3) GCT samples will be snap frozen and processed for investigation of the gene expression patterns within the tumour.