Soft tissue and visceral sarcomas in Irish patients. Interim analysis of data obtained by the Dublin Soft Tissue Tumour Panel

Epidemiological study of soft-tissue sarcomas in Ireland

Soft‐tissue sarcomas (STS) account for 1% of adult and 7% of pediatric malignancies. Histopathology and classification of these rare tumors requires further refinements. The aim of this paper is to describe the current incidence and survival of STS from 1994 to 2012 in Ireland and compare these with comparably coded international published reports. This is a retrospective, population study based on the data from the National Cancer Registry of Ireland (NCRI). Incidence and relative survival rates for STS in Ireland were generated. Incidence of STS based on gender, age and anatomical location was examined. Annual mean incidence rate (European Age Standardized) in Ireland between 1994 and 2012 was 4.48 ± 0.15 per 100,000 person‐years. The overall relative 5‐year survival rate of STS for the period 1994–2011 in Ireland was 56%, which was similar to that reported in the U.K. but lower than in most of Europe and U.S.A. Survival rate fluctuated over the period examined, declining slightly in females but showing an increase in males. STS incidence trends in Ireland were comparable to international reports. Survival trends of STS were significantly different between Ireland and other European countries, requiring further study to understand causation.

Processes and outcomes of care for soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities

Purpose: A population-based cohort study of soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities (STSE) in Ontario, Canada was conducted using linked administrative databases.

Methods and materials: Electronic administrative databases were linked from the Ontario Cancer Registry, the Canadian Institute for Health Information, and Radiation Oncology Research Unit database of radiation therapy (RT) records.

Results: The definitive surgery was amputation for 6.0%, resection for 60.9%, biopsy for 7.5%; the remainder had no surgical record. Adjuvant RT was administered to 40.2% of cases. Among cases initially treated by surgical resection, 2.0% later underwent amputation and 9.5% underwent further resection during follow-up. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) for amputation as definitive surgery was 2.3 (1.19, 4.45) in eastern Ontario relative to Toronto. The likelihood of adjuvant RT among those not registered at a cancer centre within 3 months of diagnosis was decreased (OR = 0.20 (95% CI (0.13, 0.30)) relative to those registered. The adjusted relative risk of amputation at any time following diagnosis was 3.48 (95% CI (1.63, 7.46)) among cases not attending a cancer centre. The adjusted relative risk of death was 1.4; 95% CI (1.1, 1.7) among those not attending a cancer centre.

Conclusions: Cases not seen at a multidisciplinary cancer centre within 3 months following diagnosis of STSE have an increased relative risk for amputation at any time, and for death due to any cause. Many hypotheses for further study are suggested by the results of this analysis.