[Retroperitoneal sarcomas. Report of five new cases and review of the current situation].
BACKGROUND
Soft-tissue sarcomas represent a heterogeneous group of rare tumors arising from the mesenchymal cells of the connective tissue. Approximately 15% of these tumors arise in the retroperitoneum. These neoplasms are locally aggressive and the only curative treatment is surgical resection "en-bloc". The main cause of mortality is locoregional recurrence. Five-year survival is 3-58%, depending on the histologic subtype and grade.


METHODS
Over a 5-year period (2001 to 2006), we performed surgery in five patients with retroperitoneal sarcomas. The mean age was 59 years (range, 46-76) with a male-to-female ratio of 3:2. The most frequent signs were abdominal pain and the appearance of a mass. In 2 patients, an incidental diagnosis was made during the surgical intervention.


RESULTS
Surgical resection was performed in 5 patients but was incomplete in two patients. We removed 2 liposarcomas, 1 leiomyosarcoma, 1 chondrosarcoma and 1 fusocellular sarcoma arising in the kidney. Locoregional recurrence occurred in four patients, requiring between 1 and 2 new relaparotomies (using the retroperitoneal approach in 2 patients). There was one death.


CONCLUSIONS
Retroperitoneal sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of tumors, in which the only common factor is the anatomical location. New randomized, prospective, multicenter trials are required to apply different therapeutic options according to the subtype of retroperitoneal sarcoma.
Marín-Gómez
Luis M
LM
Servicio de Cirugía General y del Aparato Digestivo, Hospital Universitario de Puerto Real, Puerto Real (Cádiz), España. marinlm@hotmail.com
Vega-Ruiz
Vicente
V
García-Ureña
Miguel A
MA
Navarro-Piñero
Alfonso
A
Calvo-Durán
Antonio
A
Díaz-Godoy
Antonio
A
de la Vega Olías
María Coral
MC
D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*