Superficial soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities and trunk.
BACKGROUND
Superficial soft tissue sarcomas (sSTS) are an important and frequent subtype of soft tissue sarcoma (STS). A wider knowledge of this tumor type may lead to better strategies in tumor therapy.


METHODS
An institutional review was performed on all patients with primary sSTS of the extremities and trunk operated on between 1990 and 2003.


RESULTS
The medical records of 108 patients with sSTS were analyzed. The local recurrence rate was 11% after a median of 25 (mean 42) months. Metastases occurred in 21 patients (19%), and 79 patients lived without evidence of disease after a mean follow-up of 112 +/- 42 months. Mean survival time was 89 months at a cumulative 5-year survival rate of 85%. R0 resection significantly enhanced cumulative survival (p = .001), as did patient age < 60 years (p = .002), tumor grading G1 and G2 compared to G3 (p = .004), absence of positive lymph nodes (p = .018), and no occurrence of metastases (p = .001). Tumor size < or = 5 cm reduced the local recurrence rate significantly (p = .044). Significant multivariate risk factors for metastases were age > or = 60 years (p = .016) and tumor grade G3 (p = .021).


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with sSTS who are > or = 60 years of age or who have G3 tumors have a high risk of distant metastases. Patients with T2 tumors have an elevated risk for local recurrence. Certainly all patients with sSTS should be in a tight after-care program to allow early diagnosis of local recurrence or distant metastases. Age < 60 years, tumor grade G1/2, no positive regional lymph nodes (N0), and a R0 resection are significant prognostic factors for survival.
Department of General, Visceral, and Pediatric Surgery, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Moorenstrasse 5, 40225, Duesseldorf, Germany. Anja.Lachenmayer@med.uni-duesseldorf.de
Anja
A
Lachenmayer
Qin
Q
Yang
Claus F
CF
Eisenberger
Edwin
E
Boelke
Christopher
C
Poremba
Antje
A
Heinecke
Christian
C
Ohmann
Wolfram Trudo
WT
Knoefel
Matthias
M
Peiper
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005121:Extremities / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D015996:Survival Rate; D013899:Thoracic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*