title: Surgical management of soft tissue sarcoma in patients over 80 years.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report outcome on patients over 80years of age with soft tissue sarcoma (STS), with respect to surgical treatment, co-morbidity, complications and survival.
  
  
  METHODS
  From a prospective database of 3400 patients with STS presenting over a 13-year period, all patients over 80years of age were identified and reviewed, with respect to tumour characteristics morbidity, mortality and outcome.
  
  
  RESULTS
  128 patients over 80years were treated for STS with 63 referred for treatment of primary disease, of whom 50 underwent resectional surgery. The remaining 65 patients were treated for recurrent or incompletely excised disease. Of the 50 patients treated primarily with surgery, 56% of tumours where high grade and 56% were greater than 10cm in diameter. The overall complication rate was 34%, with a 30-day mortality of 4%. Two- and 5-year survival rates were 56% and 46%, with a local recurrence rate of 22% at a mean follow-up of 22months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This patient group presented with poor prognosis tumours that were associated with poor outcomes in the medium to long term. Age need not be considered a contra-indication to radical surgery with curative intent.
authors.affiliation: Sarcoma and Melanoma Unit, Department of Academic Surgery, Royal Marsden Hospital, London SW3 6JJ, UK. rboden@doctors.org.uk
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Boden
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Neuhaus
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: A'hern
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Hayes
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006801:Humans; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011379:Prognosis; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome