Alternating sequential chemotherapy with high-dose ifosfamide and doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide for adult non-small round cell soft tissue sarcomas

Perioperative chemotherapy with ifosfamide and doxorubicin for high-grade soft tissue sarcomas in the extremities (JCOG0304)

OBJECTIVE

The efficacy of perioperative chemotherapy for soft tissue sarcomas is controversial and only a few prospective studies of pre-operative chemotherapy for soft tissue sarcomas in the extremities have been reported. We therefore carried out Phase II study of perioperative chemotherapy for patients with soft tissue sarcomas in the extremities.

METHODS

Patients with Stage III non-round cell soft tissue sarcomas in the extremities were eligible. The patients were treated with pre-operative chemotherapy consisting doxorubicin 60 mg/m(2) and ifosfamide 10 g/m(2) for three courses. After the tumor resection, two additional courses of the same regimen were carried out.

RESULTS

A total of 72 patients were enrolled and 70 patients were eligible. The median age of the patients was 49 years. The major pathological subtypes were synovial sarcoma in 20 and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma in 17 patients. The protocol treatments were completed in 74% of the eligible cases. The 2 and 5-year progression-free survival rates were 75.7% (95% CI, 63.9-84.1%) and 63.8% (95% CI, 51.3-73.9%), respectively. The 5-year overall survival was 82.6% (95% CI, 71.3-89.7%). There was no treatment-related death. Grade 3 or 4 hematological toxicities (leukopenia and neutropenia) were observed in most of the patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the toxicities of the regimen were significant, pre-operative chemotherapy followed by post-operative chemotherapy using doxorubicin and high-dose ifosfamide was feasible. The outcome of the trial for the patients with high-grade soft tissue sarcomas in the extremities was favorable, and this regimen is promising for further investigation. This trial was registered at the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/) as C000000096.

Blood loss and transfusion associated with musculoskeletal tumor surgery

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

No organized data regarding the blood losses associated with musculoskeletal tumor surgery has been existed. The present study aimed to examine the extent of blood loss and the transfusion requirement associated with various kinds of musculoskeletal tumor surgeries in a large, well-defined sample.

METHODS

The records of 1,047 consecutive operations for musculoskeletal tumors were reviewed.

RESULTS

The total blood loss ranged from 0 to 26,050 ml (median: 95 ml). The operative time ranged from 5 to 1,140 min (median: 105 min). There was a significant correlation between the total blood loss and the operative time. The median blood loss was 10 ml in biopsies, 100 ml in curettages, 190 ml in amputations or disarticulations, 30 ml in marginal resections (bone tumors, 50 ml; soft tissue tumors, 25 ml), and 380 ml in wide resections (bone tumors, 2,155 ml; soft tissue tumors, 180 ml). Wide resections for malignant tumors were associated with significantly more blood loss than marginal resections for benign ones. Resections of bone tumors were accompanied by significantly more blood loss than those of soft tissue tumors. Overall, blood transfusions were required after 210 (20.1%) operations.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results provide the first exhaustive data about blood loss and the subsequent need for transfusion associated with various kinds of musculoskeletal tumor surgeries that may be helpful for establishing a guideline for perioperative patient management.