title: Retrospective analysis of 498 primary soft tissue sarcomas in a single Turkish centre.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) must be managed with a team involving pathologists, radiologists, surgeons, radiation therapists and medical oncologists. Treatment modalities and demographic characteristics of Turkish STS were analysed in the current study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary adult STS followed between 1999- 2010 in Cukurova University Medical Faculty Department of Medical Oncology were analyzed retrospectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the total of 498 patients, 238 were male and 260 female. The most seen adult sarcomas were leomyosarcoma (23%). Localization of disease was upper extremity (8.8%), lower extremity (24.7%), head-neck 8.2%, thoracic 8%, retroperitoneal 5.6%, uterine 12.4%, abdominal 10%, pelvic region 3.6 and other regions 10%. Some 13.1% were early stage, 10.2% locally advanced, 8.2% metastatic and 12.2% recurrent disease. Patients were treated with neoadjuvant/adjuvant (12%) or palliative chemotherapy (7.2%) and 11.4% patients did not receive chemotherapy. Surgery was performed as radical or conservative. The most preferred regimen was MAID combination chemotherapy in the rate of 17.6%. The most common metastatic site was lung (18.1%). The overall survival was 45 months (95%CI 30-59), 36 months in men and 55 months in women, with no statistically significant difference (p=0.5). The survival rates were not different between the group of adjuvant and palliative chemotherapy (respectively 28 versus 18 months) (p=0.06), but radical surgery at 37 months was better than 22 months for conservative surgery (p=0.0001). No differences were evident for localization (p=0.152). Locally advanced group had higher overall survival rates (72 months) than other stages (p=0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  STS can be treated successfully with surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The survival rates of Turkish people were higher in locally advanced group; these results show the importance of multimodality treatment approach and radical surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Medical Faculty, Cukurova University, Turkey. berboz@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Berna Bozkurt
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Duman
authors.forename: Meral
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gunaldi
authors.forename: Vehbi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ercolak
authors.forename: Cigdem Usul
authors.initials: CU
authors.lastname: Afsar
authors.forename: Berksoy
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sahin
authors.forename: I Melek Koksal
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Erkisi
authors.forename: Oguz
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kara
authors.forename: Semra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paydas
authors.forename: Gülfiliz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gönlüsen
authors.forename: Yaşar
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sertdemir
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D015996:Survival Rate; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult