title: Head and neck soft tissue sarcomas: prognostic factors and outcome in a series of patients treated at a single institution.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Head and neck soft tissue sarcomas (STS) represent a rare disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and sixty-seven patients underwent surgery at our institution with an eradicating intent between 1990 and 2010. Local recurrence (LR), distant metastasis (DM) and disease-specific mortality (DSM) incidence were studied along with clinicopathological prognostic factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten-year crude cumulative incidence (CCI) of LR, DM and DSM were 19%, 11% and 26%, respectively (median follow-up 66 months). Independent prognostic factors for DSM were tumor size (P < 0.001) and grade (P = 0.032), while surgical margins obtained a border-line significance (0.070); LR was affected by the tumor size (P = 0.001), while DM only by grade (P = 0.047). The median survival after LR and DM were 14 months and 7 months, respectively. Tumors sited in the paranasal sinus and supraclavicular region had the worst survival.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Head and neck represent a very critical anatomical site for STS. Achievement of local disease control appears to be crucial, since even LR could be a life-threatening event.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mattavelli
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Miceli
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Radaelli
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mattavelli
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cantù
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barisella
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Quattrone
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stacchiotti
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sangalli
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Casali
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gronchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fiore
mesh_terms: D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000401:mortality* / Q000532:radiotherapy / Q000601:surgery; D013534:Survival; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: head and neck; prognosis; sarcoma; soft tissue sarcoma; surgery