Extremity soft tissue sarcoma with metastases to abdominopelvic surfaces.
BACKGROUND
In a majority of patients with extremity soft tissue sarcoma, the lungs are the first site at which recurrent disease is detected. Other common sites of recurrence are the resection site, bone metastasis, and liver metastasis. Although abdomino pelvic sarcomatosis is common as a site of recurrence for visceral and retroperitoneal sarcoma, it has not been previously reported for extremity sarcoma.


METHODS
We present three patients in whom extremity soft tissue sarcoma metastasized to the peritoneal surfaces, and in all three patients this was symptomatically the dominant site for recurrence. All of them underwent a palliative surgical cytoreduction and were then treated with intraperitoneal chemotherapy.


RESULTS
In two of the three patients, isolated progression of peritoneal sarcomatosis has again occurred: one patient remains disease free at 14 months.


CONCLUSIONS
Metastasis to peritoneal surfaces within the abdomen and pelvis must be considered a possible site for systemic dissemination of extremity soft tissue sarcomas. Effective treatments for sarcoma spread to peritoneal surfaces would benefit this small but symptomatic group of patients.
Zanarini
D
D
Washington Cancer Institute, Washington Hospital Center, DC, USA.
Sugarbaker
P H
PH
D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010534:Peritoneal Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary*; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy