title: Prognostic factors for survival in patients with locally recurrent extremity soft tissue sarcomas.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Factors prognostic for survival in patients with locally recurrent extremity soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are poorly defined, thus making it difficult to identify high-risk patients who may benefit from adjuvant therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1421 patients underwent surgical treatment for primary extremity STS at a single institution between 1982 and 2002. Of these, 179 (13%) patients underwent complete surgical resection of an isolated local recurrence and were the subjects of this study. Clinicopathologic factors from both the primary tumor and the local recurrence were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median interval to initial local recurrence was 16 months: 65% developed a local recurrence by 2 years and 90% by 4 years. Only four patients who presented with a low-grade primary tumor progressed to a high-grade local recurrence. Independent prognostic factors for disease-specific survival after local recurrence were a high histological grade (hazard ratio, 5.1; P = .0004), a large local recurrence tumor size (hazard ratio, 1.5; P = .0001), and a short local recurrence-free interval (hazard ratio, 1.6; P = .0001). Patients who developed a local recurrence >5 cm in < or =16 months (n = 44; 0 low grade) had a 4-year disease-specific survival of 18%, compared with 81% for patients who developed a local recurrence < or =5 cm in >16 months (n = 46; 11 low grade).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Histological grade, local recurrence size, and local recurrence-free interval are independently predictive of survival in patients with locally recurrent extremity STS. A large local recurrence that develops in a short interval indicates a biologically aggressive tumor with a high tumor-specific mortality. Patients who develop such recurrences are ideal subjects for systemic neoadjuvant therapy trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Fritz C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Eilber
authors.forename: Murray F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Brennan
authors.forename: Elyn
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Riedel
authors.forename: Kaled M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Alektiar
authors.forename: Cristina R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Antonescu
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Singer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005121:Extremities / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery