LOCAL RECURRENCE AND SURVIVAL IN SOFT-TISSUE SARCOMAS

Background: There is a continuous interest in the literature concernin g the management and survival after treatment of local recurrence in s arcomas because it is one of the most common types of recurrence. Desi gn: We retrospectively reviewed 93 patients treated for local recurren ce from soft-tissue sarcoma. Methods: We evaluated prognostic paramete rs (grade, tumor size, location) and the effect of treatment on surviv al. Results: Resection of all the gross tumor at first visit to our In stitute for local recurrence was accomplished in 88 patients (95%). Of the 59 patients with extremity tumors, six (10%) required an amputati on. At a mean follow-up of 66 months, further local recurrence was not ed in 27%. The estimated 5-year survival rate was 100% for patients wi th grade I tumors (n = 16), 77% for grade II (n = 31), and 45% for gra de III tumors (n = 46) (p = 0.0002). This value was 78% for tumors les s than or equal to 5 cm and 57% for those >5 cm (p = 0.03). Conclusion s: Local recurrence is resectable and limb preservation is possible in the majority of patients. The overall 5-year survival rate was 65%. s urvival after treatment of local recurrence is determined mainly by th e grade and secondarily by the size of the tumor as for primary sarcom as.