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Primary liver sarcomas in the modern era: Resection or transplantation?
Author(s) -
Konstantinidis Ioannis T.,
Nota Carolijn,
Jutric Zeljka,
Ituarte Philip,
Chow Warren,
Chu Peiguo,
Singh Gagandeep,
Warner Susanne G.,
Melstrom Laleh G.,
Fong Yuman
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of surgical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.201
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1096-9098
pISSN - 0022-4790
DOI - 10.1002/jso.24979
Subject(s) - medicine , epithelioid hemangioendothelioma , angiosarcoma , leiomyosarcoma , sarcoma , hemangioendothelioma , transplantation , liver transplantation , surgery , hemangiosarcoma , rhabdomyosarcoma , chemotherapy , radiology , pathology , immunohistochemistry
Background and Objectives Primary liver sarcomas (PLS) are rare. Published series are limited by small numbers of patients. Methods We reviewed the National Cancer Database (2004‐2014) for patients who underwent surgical resection of PLS. Results Of 237 patients identified, the majority were female (60.8%), with median age of 52 years. Histologies were: epithelioid hemangioendothelioma ( n = 67), angiosarcoma ( n = 64), leiomyosarcoma ( n = 33), embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma ( n = 31), carcinosarcoma ( n = 16), giant cell sarcoma ( n = 14), spindle cell sarcoma ( n = 12). Ninety‐seven (40.9%) patients underwent lobectomies or extended lobectomies, 41 patients (17.3%) underwent transplantation. Surgical margins were negative in 82.9%. Tumors were well differentiated in 11.3%. Histology type correlated with outcome with the best prognosis for epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (OS: not reached, similar for resection and transplantation) and the worst for angiosarcoma (OS:16.6 mo with resection; 6 mo with transplantation; P = 0.04). Resections with microscopically negative margins were associated with improved survival (58.7 vs 11.3 mo for positive margins; P < 0.001). Chemotherapy and radiation therapy were used in a minority of patients (32.9% and 4.3% respectively) with no improvement in outcomes. Conclusions Both hepatic resection and liver transplantation can be associated with long term survival for selected primary liver sarcomas such as epitheliod hemangioendotheliomas. Histology type and the ability to resect the tumor with negative margins correlate with outcomes and the decision to operate should be carefully weighed for subtypes with particularly dismal prognosis such as angiosarcomas.