title: Classification of positive margins after resection of soft-tissue sarcoma of the limb predicts the risk of local recurrence.
abstract: We considered whether a positive margin occurring after resection of a soft-tissue sarcoma of a limb would affect the incidence of local recurrence. Patients with low-grade liposarcomas were expected to be a low-risk group as were those who had positive margins planned before surgery to preserve critical structures. Two groups, however, were expected to be at a higher risk, namely, patients who had undergone unplanned excision elsewhere with a positive margin on re-excision and those with unplanned positive margins occurring during primary resection. Of 566 patients in a prospective database, 87 with positive margins after limb-sparing surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy were grouped according to the clinical scenario by an observer blinded to the outcome. The rate of local recurrence differed significantly between the two low- (4.2% and 3.6%) and the two high-risk groups (31.6% and 37.5%). This classification therefore provides useful information about the incidence of local recurrence after positive-margin resection.
authors.affiliation: Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Gerrand
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Wunder
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kandel
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: O'Sullivan
authors.forename: C N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Catton
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Davis
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology*; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D016019:Survival Analysis