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Conservative surgery and postoperative radiotherapy in 300 adults with soft‐tissue sarcomas
Author(s) -
Lindberg Robert D.,
Martin Richard G.,
Romsdahl Marvin M.,
Barkley H. Thomas
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19810515)47:10<2391::aid-cncr2820471012>3.0.co;2-b
Subject(s) - medicine , radiation therapy , surgery , soft tissue , lesion , soft tissue sarcoma , radical surgery , lymph node , stage (stratigraphy) , incidence (geometry) , survival rate , fibrosarcoma , lymphatic system , conservative treatment , cancer , pathology , paleontology , physics , optics , biology
From January 1963 through December 1977, 300 adults with soft‐tissue sarcomas were treated by a conservative surgical excision and postoperative radiotherapy. The absolute two‐ and five‐year disease‐free survival rates are 74% (222/300) and 61.3% (103/168), respectively. The five‐year survival rate varies with: (1) anatomic site, e.g. , 69.4% (75/108) for extremity lesions vs. 33% (5/15) for abdominal lesions; (2) histopathologic diagnosis, e.g. , 86.4% (19/22) for fibrosarcoma vs. 50% (15/30) for neurofibrosarcoma; and (3) stage of the lesion. The overall local recurrence rate was 22.3% (67/300) and 27% (81/300) of the patients developed distant metastases. The incidence of lymph node metastases as an initial site of spread was only 2.7% (8/300); therefore, elective treatment of the regional lymphatics is not indicated. The 6.5% incidence of significant complications in extremities is low and might be further diminished by careful treatment planning. The combination of conservative surgery and postoperative radiation therapy maintains a functional limb in 84.5% (169/200) of patients with extremity lesions. This rate is comparable to the five‐year survival rate attained with radical surgery.