title: Compartment surgery in treatment strategies for retroperitoneal sarcomas: a single-center experience.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS) are rare tumors and radical surgery is still the only curative treatment. We aim to estimate postoperative morbidity and mortality and identify significant prognostic factors for survival of patients with RPS and then evaluate the effect of en bloc resection on survival.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a retrospective follow-up study of 91 patients with RPS who underwent surgery at the Section of Abdominopelvic Surgery of the National Cancer Institute-Brazil (INCA) between June 1992 and January 2008. Overall and 2-, 5-, and 10-year disease-free survival rates were calculated and univariate and Cox multivariate analyses were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most common complaints were abdominal pain and mass. Resection was possible in 83.5% and curative resection in 55.3%. Six patients died within the postoperative period (mortality = 6.6%) and 28 had complications (30.8%). Leiomyosarcomas and liposarcomas predominated, as well as G3. The median tumor diameter was 20.5 cm. There were 124 organs resected in association, with only 42 proven invaded. The 5-year overall survival and disease-free survival rates were 32.0 and 36.8%, respectively. Cell differentiation, curative or palliative resection, blood transfusion, and re-resection were significant variables. Compartment surgery had no impact on survival, but it increased the duration of surgery, the need for blood transfusion, and overall morbidity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that early diagnosis and curative resection of retroperitoneal sarcomas can improve long-term survival. Adjacent organs with evidence of direct invasion must be removed en bloc; others should be spared.
authors.affiliation: Department of Abdominopelvic Surgery, National Cancer Institute of Brazil (INCA), Rua Sorocaba 706 sala 304, Botafogo, RJ, 22271-110, Brazil. carloseduardo@cirurgiaonline.com.br
authors.forename: Carlos Eduardo Rodrigues
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Mauro Monteiro
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Correia
authors.forename: Luiz Claudio Santos
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Thuler
authors.forename: Bruno Rodrigues
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Accetta
authors.forename: Jurandir
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Almeida Dias
authors.forename: Eduardo Linhares Riello
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: de Mello
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D055815:Young Adult