Factors influencing local recurrence and survival in patients with soft tissue sarcoma of the upper limb

Wide resection of soft tissue sarcomas after unplanned primary procedures: A long-term follow-up study

Unplanned resection of soft-tissue sarcomas (STS) predispose the patients to recurrences and metastases, secondary wide resection is usually warranted.To investigate the outcomes of re-excision of STS after unplanned initial resection.The records of 39 patients undergoing re-excision of STS after unplanned initial resection from January 2006 through December 2015 were retrospectively investigated.There were 17 males and 22 females, the mean age was 45.7 years. Most initial unplanned resections were performed in rural hospitals by surgeons from general surgery department, dermatology department, plastic surgery department, and orthopedic department. Thirty-five patients underwent secondary wide resections in our department. Histopathological findings indicated positive margins after primary surgeries in 18 patients. Until the conclusion of 37.2-month follow-up, 7 patients developed metastasis, 3 had local recurrence, and 7 were dead. Positive margins were associated with increased metastases and lower survival rates (P < .05). There was no significant difference in recurrences between the 2 groups.Unplanned initial resection of STS often lead to unfavorable prognosis. Primary wide resections are warranted for this disease entity.

Soft tissue sarcomas of the upper extremities: Maximizing treatment opportunities and outcomes

Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) are rare tumors; they do not even equate to 1% of all malignant tumor cases. One-fifth of all STS occur in the upper extremities, where epithelioid sarcoma, synovial sarcoma, clear cell sarcoma and malignant fibrohistiocytoma are the most frequent subtypes. Surgical resection is the cornerstone of treatment. However, accomplishment of optimal oncological and functional results of STS of the upper extremities may represent a challenge for hand surgeons, due to the complex anatomy. In several cases, preoperative therapies are needed to facilitate tumor resection and improve the oncological outcome. Oligometastatic disease may also be a challenging scenario as curative strategies can be applied. Radiotherapy and chemotherapy are commonly used for this purpose albeit with conflicting evidence. Novel drug combinations have also been approved in the metastatic setting, further improving the quality of life and survival of eligible patients. Thus, prior to any approach, every case should be individually discussed in sarcoma centers with specialized multidisciplinary tumor boards. The aim of the present review was to gather the multidisciplinary experiences of the available therapeutic strategies for STS of the upper extremities.

Infiltrative MRI pattern and incomplete initial surgery compromise local control of myxofibrosarcoma

Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) has a high local failure rate of up to 79%. We conducted a retrospective analysis on all patients with the diagnosis of myxofibrosarcoma seen between 1990 and 2004 to assess whether improved imaging with MRI reduced local recurrence, increased survival, and whether radiotherapy following resection influenced outcome. Twenty-one patients were treated for MFS with a median followup of 52 months (range, 18-122). All patients were surgically treated, with 19 receiving limb-sparing surgery. All patients with high grade disease, positive margins, or a pre-referral procedure received radiation therapy. The local recurrence rate was 57% for patients with a prior outside procedure (8 of 14), while patients with no prior surgery had a rate of 14% (1 of 7). Prior marginal excision and diffuse fascial spread on MRI predicted an increased local recurrence rate. The disease-free survival at 5 years was 43% (SE, 22%) for low-grade disease and 39% (SE, 18%) for high- grade disease. Magnetic resonance imaging observations suggest a unique pattern of diffuse spread along fascial planes that could be responsible for the high local recurrence. Radiation did not compensate for positive margins, nor did it reduce recurrence after negative margins.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic study, level IV (case series).

Outcomes of re-excision after unplanned excisions of soft-tissue sarcomas

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Unplanned excisions of soft-tissue sarcomas of the extremities occur commonly. Our goal was to evaluate the presence of residual disease, the treatment outcomes as they relate to local and distant recurrence and 5-year survival, and the limb functional outcomes in patients with unplanned sarcoma excision who were treated with re-excision and adjuvant therapy.

METHODS

Between 1993 and 1999, 42 patients presented to our institution after unplanned excision of soft-tissue sarcomas. Of those 42 patients, 38 without gross residual disease or metastatic lesions formed the basis of this review. All 38 patients underwent revision wide excision; most (31) also received adjuvant therapy (radiation and/or chemotherapy). Clinical data were obtained from analysis of patient records and radiographic studies. Univariate analysis was performed with logistical regression, and multivariate analysis was performed with Cox modeling.

RESULTS

The overall 5-year survival rate was 91.3% and the disease-free 5-year survival rate was 82.2%. Univariate analysis showed that stage-III disease (American Joint Committee on Cancer classification of soft-tissue sarcomas), lesions below the fascia, a histologic high-grade, and the development of organ metastasis were statistically significant factors for mortality. Stage-III disease also was significant for mortality on multivariate analysis. Only stage-III disease was significant for the development of local recurrence. Eighty-four percent of the patients had good to excellent functional outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Re-excision with adjuvant therapy proved to be a safe and effective method for treating the disease and preserving limb function.

The influence of anatomic location on outcome in patients with soft tissue sarcoma of the extremity

BACKGROUND

The anatomic location of an extremity soft tissue sarcoma may influence the patient's presentation, management, and local and systemic recurrence rates. The objective of this study was to compare the presentation, management, and outcome of patients with soft tissue sarcomas of the upper extremity and the lower extremity.

METHODS

Prospectively collected data from patients who underwent limb-sparing surgery for extremity soft tissue sarcoma between January, 1986 and April, 1997 were analyzed. Local recurrence free rates and metastasis free rates were calculated using the method of Kaplan and Meier. Univariate and multivariate analyses of potential predictive factors were evaluated with the log-rank test and the Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

Of 480 eligible patients, 48 patients (10.0%) had a local recurrence, and 131 patients (27.3%) developed distant metastasis. The median follow-up of survivors was 4.8 years (range, 0.1-12.9 years). Patients with upper extremity tumors had smaller lesions (6.0 cm vs. 9.3 cm; P < 0.001), more often underwent unplanned excision before referral (89 patients [64.0%] vs. 160 patients [46.9%]; P < 0.001), and less often received radiotherapy (98 patients [70.5%] vs. 289 patients [84.8%]; P < 0.001). The 5-year local recurrence free rate was 82% for patients with sarcomas of the upper extremity and 93% for patients with sarcomas of the lower extremity (P = 0.002). The 5-year metastasis free rate was 82% for patients with sarcomas of the upper extremity and 69% for patients with sarcomas of the lower extremity (P = 0.013).

CONCLUSIONS

Local recurrence was more frequent in patients who had sarcomas of the upper extremity compared with patients who had sarcomas of the lower extremity. Factors that contributed to this difference included histologic type, the use of radiotherapy, and local anatomy. Metastasis was more frequent among patients with sarcomas of the lower extremity, because those tumors tended to be large and deeper compared with upper extremity tumors.

Prognostic index for extremity soft tissue sarcomas with isolated local recurrence

BACKGROUND

Local recurrence occurs in 10% to 20% of patients with extremity soft tissue sarcomas despite optimal treatment. The association of local recurrence with subsequent survival is controversial and conflicting. There is a need for a staging system to predict outcome in this subset of patients and also to plan optimal treatment, including adjuvant systemic therapy.

METHODS

Data collected from 110 patients with locally recurrent extremity soft tissue sarcomas were studied. The influence of clinical and pathologic factors on local recurrence, distant metastasis, and disease-specific survival were analyzed by univariate and multivariate techniques.

RESULTS

Of the 110 patients who presented with local recurrence, 92 had an isolated local recurrence and 18 had prior or concomitant distant metastases. The 5-year disease-specific survival for all patients was 63% and for those with isolated local recurrence, it was 69%. Histologic grade, malignant fibrous histiocytoma histology, pathologic margins, previous local recurrence, and prior radiotherapy were independent prognostic factors for subsequent local recurrence. Tumor size, histologic grade, and time to local recurrence were independent prognostic factors for distant metastasis and disease-specific survival. A prognostic index was calculated by assigning a score of 1 to 3 for each of the three independent prognostic factors for survival and added to give the prognostic index for each patient. As the prognostic index increased from 3 to 9, there was a progressive increase in the hazard ratios and a corresponding deterioration in survival. The patients were then categorized into three prognostic groups based on the hazard ratios for disease specific survival. The differences in the survival curves were highly statistically significant (P < .0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Tumor size, histologic grade, and time to local recurrence are the primary determinants of distant metastases and survival in locally recurrent extremity soft tissue sarcomas. The impact of local recurrence on survival varies considerably. The nature of the local recurrence, rather than its presence per se, is a more useful guide to prognosis. We propose a simple staging system based on size, grade, and time to recurrence that correlates extremely well with prognosis and may serve as a guide to make therapeutic decisions in patients with locally recurrent extremity soft tissue sarcomas.

Soft-tissue sarcomas

Sarcomas of the soft tissues are challenging lesions for the surgical oncologist. Careful planning must be done at all stages of diagnosis and treatment, because every sarcoma is unique with respect to histologic type, size, and location. Pretreatment discussions in a multidisciplinary format are useful to ensure appropriate and effective management of these tumors.

Factors predicting local recurrence of desmoid tumours including proliferating cell nuclear antigen

BACKGROUND

A series of 24 patients with desmoid tumours were studied to determine factors predicting local recurrence, and to establish whether these desmoid tumours were oestrogen receptor-positive or -negative.

METHODS

Histology was reviewed and immunohistochemical studies were undertaken. Risk factors for local recurrence were analysed.

RESULTS

The findings indicate that the 24 desmoid tumours were oestrogen receptor- and progesterone receptor-negative. Most tumours were proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-positive, and positivity was graded by percentage of cells staining and the intensity of the staining. The presence of incomplete macroscopic or histological surgical resection margins did not correlate with local recurrence. Although all tumours that recurred were strongly PCNA-positive with a high percentage of positive cell staining, this trend was not significant. Local recurrence was more common in desmoid tumours arising in extra-abdominal sites (P = 0.03). Extra-abdominal desmoid tumours were significantly more likely to have incomplete histological margins following resection (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Desmoid tumours are oestrogen receptor- and progesterone receptor-negative. Of factors analysed for local recurrence, only the extra-abdominal site was significant.

Postoperative radiotherapy in the management of adult soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities: results with two different total dose, fractionation, and overall treatment time schedules

PURPOSE

This retrospective study was performed to evaluate two postoperative radiotherapy schedules in terms of dose, fractionation, and overall treatment time in soft tissue sarcoma (STS) of the extremities.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Between January 1984 and December 1993, 62 patients with newly diagnosed localized STS of the extremities were treated with maximal conservative surgery and postoperative radiotherapy (RT). Forty-five patients received 50 Gy with conventional fractionation plus a boost dose (5 to 20 Gy). Seventeen patients had hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy (HFART) up to a dose of 45 Gy in 3 weeks.

RESULTS

With a median follow-up of 72 months, the 5-year local failure rate was 25%, the 5-year disease-free and overall survival rates were respectively 42% and 62%. The 3-year local relapse, disease-free, and overall survival rates were respectively 16%, 44%, and 70% in the conventional radiotherapy group, and 36%, 47%, and 82% in the HFART group (NS). No factor significantly influenced local control with a trend, however, in favor of conventional RT (p = 0.10).

CONCLUSION

HFART at the dose of 45 Gy does not seem to be superior to the standard RT schedule, neither in terms of local control, survival, nor in terms of long-term side effects. However this dose could be considered too low as well as the power of comparison between the two groups to draw definitive conclusions.

Soft tissue sarcoma of the upper extremity: descriptive data and outcome in a population-based series of 108 adult patients

We report a population-based, 29-year review of 108 adult patients with soft tissue sarcoma of the upper extremity who had a minimum follow-up period of 3 years. Fifty tumors were localized in the upper arm, 8 in the elbow, 40 in the forearm, and 10 in the hand. Thirty-four tumors were subcutaneous and 74 were deep-seated. The median tumor size was 6 cm. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma was the most common histotype (n = 43), and grade IV (on a 4-grade scale) was the most common malignancy grade (n = 54). All but 6 patients underwent surgery; limb-sparing surgery of the primary tumor was performed in 89 patients. Twenty-four patients were given adjuvant radiotherapy; 11 received adjuvant chemotherapy. Inadequate local treatment was more common in patients treated outside the tumor center. Local recurrence occurred in 15 of 28 with inadequate local treatment and in 16 of 74 patients with adequate local treatment (20 of the 39 patients treated outside the center and 11 of the 63 patients treated at the center). At the latest follow-up visit, 32 patients had developed metastases, giving a 5-year metastasis-free survival rate of 0.72. In a multivariate analysis, tumor size larger than 5 cm and vascular invasion emerged as independent prognostic factors. Patients without these 2 factors had excellent survival. When compared with soft tissue sarcoma of the lower extremity or trunk wall, tumors in the upper extremity were smaller at the time of diagnosis and had a higher 5-year metastasis-free survival rate.

Soft tissue sarcomas in children

In childhood, soft tissue sarcomas comprise a complex group of malignancies of varied histologic subtypes, the prognoses of which depend on the histology, age, site, extent of involvement and a variety of other factors. This paper discusses the varieties of tumors classified as soft tissue sarcomas in childhood and the multimodal approach taken to cure these tumors, with particular attention to the details of difficult surgical problems.

Modified staging system for extremity soft tissue sarcomas

BACKGROUND

The establishment of a universally acceptable staging system for soft tissue sarcomas has been hampered by the low incidence, various grading systems, and lack of consensus regarding the value of different prognostic factors. We aimed to evaluate prognostic factors in patients with extremity soft tissue sarcomas and to test the validity of the AJCC/UICC staging system.

METHODS

Prospectively collected data from 316 previously untreated patients with primary extremity soft tissue sarcomas treated at a single institution between 1989 and 1995 were studied. The influence of clinical and pathological factors on local recurrence, distant metastasis, and disease-specific survival was analyzed by univariate and multivariate techniques.

RESULTS

Large tumor size and high histological grade were independent adverse prognostic factors for distant metastasis. Large size, high grade, and positive microscopic surgical margins were independent adverse prognostic factors, and liposarcoma histology was an independent favorable prognostic factor for disease-specific survival. Within each histological grade, there was a progressive decline in survival with increasing tumor size, as reflected by an almost linear increase in hazard ratios. Similarly, there was a progressive fall in survival with increasing grade within each size group (<5 cm, 5 to 10 cm, 10 to 15 cm, and > 15 cm). AJCC staging did not correlate well with prognosis. Survival for intermediate-grade tumors smaller than 5 cm (stage IIA) was better than that for low-grade tumors larger than 5 cm (stage IB) (86% vs. 73%). Survival for high-grade tumors smaller than 5 cm (stage IIIA) was better than that for intermediate-grade tumors larger than 5 cm (stage IIB) (72% vs. 57%). A modified staging system was formulated based on the additive influence of size and grade on the estimated hazard ratios for disease-specific survival, as follows: stage IA, G1T1; stage IB, G1T2 or G2T1; stage IIA, G1T3 or G2T2 or G3T1; stage IIB, G1T4 or G2T3 or G3T2; stage IIIA, G2T4 or G3T3; stage IIIB, G3T4; and stage IV, M1 (G1, G2, G3 = low, intermediate, and high grade; T1, T2, T3, T4 = tumor size < 5 cm, 5-10 cm, 10-15 cm, and > 15 cm, respectively). The 5-year disease-specific survivals of stages IA, IB, IIA, IIB, IIIA, and IIIB were 100%, 83%, 74%, 61%, 39%, and 18%, respectively. The 5-year disease-specific survival for stages I, II, III, and IV were 90%, 67%, 31%, and 6% respectively. The survival difference between each stage was statistically significant (P < .001).

CONCLUSION

Histological grade and tumor size are equally important determinants of distant metastases and survival. The AJCC/UICC staging system is based primarily on the grade of the tumor, with size used to subgroup each stage. A staging system for extremity soft tissue sarcomas with equal emphasis on grade and size is proposed that correlates extremely well with prognosis.

Pre-operative core biopsy of soft-tissue tumours facilitates their surgical management

BACKGROUND

Soft-tissue sarcomas are rare, and clinical differentiation of benign tumours from sarcomas is sometimes impossible. Further, the diagnosis of soft-tissue sarcomas may be unsuspected pre-operatively, and the presenting mass enucleated. While enucleation (excisional biopsy) is acceptable for benign lesions, it is inappropriate for sarcomas, because the opportunity for the most effective management resulting in both adequate local control and functional limb salvage surgery is compromised. A high rate of wound complications following open incisional biopsy may also compromise local treatment. Inappropriate siting of the incision for both incisional and excisional biopsies may adversely affect subsequent surgery and radiotherapy.

METHODS

We therefore assessed the accuracy of core biopsy in the diagnosis of soft-tissue tumours, and planning of definitive surgery. All patients with primary soft-tissue tumours managed by two surgeons with a special interest in soft-tissue sarcomas since 1991 were reviewed. More than half (53%) were referred from other specialists.

RESULTS

Of 45 cases, 37 (82%) were referred with the tumour intact, and of these 31 (84%) underwent core biopsy. The overall accuracy of core biopsy was 84%. The sensitivity was 94%, with 100% specificity. In most patients this allowed planning of definitive one-stage surgery (P < 0.005). Of the remaining five non-diagnostic cores, four were benign and one was a non-specific malignancy.

CONCLUSIONS

Core biopsy has a high degree of accuracy in the diagnosis of soft-tissue tumours, particularly malignant lesions, and is not misleading. Core biopsy avoids the complications of open biopsy, and enables planning of one-stage surgery when used in combination with appropriate imaging.

Size and timing of local recurrence predicts metastasis in soft tissue sarcoma. Growth rate index retrospectively analyzed in 134 patients

Our study combined size and timing of the first local recurrence to create a growth rate index (GRI-ratio of size (cm) to timing (mo)) which we analyzed for an association with metastasis. We analyzed 134 locally recurrent tumors from a series of 460 adult patients with soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities and trunk wall who were diagnosed and treated between 1964 and 1990, with a median follow-up of 10 (2-28) years for survivors. None of the patients had metastases at diagnosis. One half (74) of local recurrences were from inadequately treated primaries, one half (71) were associated with metastases, and two thirds (89) were seen in non-center-treated patients. There were equal numbers of patients with GRI < or = 0.4 (low) and > 0.4 (high). Patients with a low GRI had a better 2-year metastasis-free survival (80 percent) than those with a high GRI (30 percent). High GRIs were associated with large, high grade primary tumors and a short metastasis-free interval in comparison to low GRI tumors. Time to local recurrence strongly correlated with the time to metastasis (R2 0.85, p < 0.001). GRI was a good discriminator of metastasis in patients with tumors larger than 5 cm and of malignancy grade IV. Our study suggests that clinical characteristics (e.g., GRI) of local recurrence rather than presence, per se, are important in predicting tumor behavior.

Prognosis following locally recurrent soft-tissue sarcoma. A staging system based on primary and recurrent tumour characteristics

We have shown that the clinical growth rate of local recurrence from soft-tissue sarcoma could be expressed as a growth-rate index (GRI) which was predictive for metastasis, and which was able to identify 2 equal populations of good (80% 2-year MFS) and poor survivors (33%). We now report the associations between characteristics of the primary and GRI, and combine primary and locally recurrent tumour characteristics in a staging system. We studied 460 adult patients with soft-tissue sarcomas of the extremities and trunk wall who were diagnosed and treated between 1964 and 1990, of whom 134 developed local recurrences and 151 metastases. The association of primary tumour size, histologic malignancy grade, depth, spontaneous necrosis, intratumoral vascular invasion and S-phase fraction with local recurrence, GRI and metastasis were examined. High GRI was associated with primary tumours that were larger, deeper, more malignant, underwent spontaneous tumour necrosis, demonstrated intravascular invasion and had a higher S-phase fraction. The same factors were also strongly associated with the incidence of metastasis. A multivariate analysis found GRI and primary tumour necrosis to be the strongest and most significant prognostic factors. GRI and tumour necrosis were combined in a staging system that identified groups with good survival (79 to 94% 2-year MFS), intermediate survival (61% 2-year MFS) and exceptionally poor survival (6% 2-year MFS). These findings validate our earlier assertion that high GRI reflects highly malignant tumours. A staging system composed of primary tumour necrosis and GRI can identify patients who may be suitable candidates for trials of adjuvant chemotherapy.