Improved survival for sarcomas of the wrist and hand.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate survival characteristics of malignant hand tumors compared with those occurring in other musculoskeletal locations over a 30-year period.


METHODS
Patients were identified through a computerized database maintained at the authors' institution over the past 30 years. Each patient's records were reviewed retrospectively. Diagnoses were categorized and survival data for patients with hand malignancies were compared with those of patients having similar tumors in other musculoskeletal sites by using multivariate statistical analysis.


RESULTS
The most common malignancies were epitheloid sarcoma, synovial sarcoma, and malignant fibrous histiocytoma. Improved survival during the follow-up period was found for hand malignancies versus those occurring in other musculoskeletal sites as a whole, and this difference was statistically significant. No significant survival benefit was identified for individual tumors.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients presenting with primary malignancies of the hand may survive longer than those with similar tumors in other musculoskeletal locations


METHODS
Prognostic, Level II.
Buecker
Peter J
PJ
Orthopaedic Oncology Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA. pjbuecker@hotmail.com
Villafuerte
Jorge E
JE
Hornicek
Francis J
FJ
Gebhardt
Mark C
MC
Mankin
Henry J
HJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D019992:Databases as Topic; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019042:Muscle Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000401:mortality*; D015996:Survival Rate