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Updated: Aug 9, 2026
Establishment of a Primary Culture of Patient-derived Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Published on: April 11, 2018
Extremity soft-tissue sarcomas selectively treated with surgery alone
P L Fabrizio1, S L Stafford, D J Pritchard
1Division of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Purpose:
This study determined local control (LC), freedom from distant recurrence (FFDR), overall survival (OS), and potential prognostic factors in 34 adult patients with primary extremity or limb girdle soft-tissue sarcoma selectively managed with limb-conservation surgery alone.
Methods And Materials:
The medical records of 34 patients who underwent surgery alone for localized soft-tissue sarcoma of the extremity were reviewed. Median duration of follow-up in survivors was 55 months (range, 24-143). There were 13 (38%) females. Eighteen (53%) of the tumors were low-grade, 15 (44%) were superficial, 15 (44%) were small (5 cm or less), and 16 (47%) involved the distal extremity.
Results:
Actuarial 5-year LC was 80%, FFDR was 86%, and OS was 82%. All recurrences (local and distant) were in patients with high-grade tumors; their 5-year LC was 60%, FFDR was 71%, and OS was 69%. In 2 patients, metastatic disease developed either concurrent with or after their local recurrence. Univariate analysis revealed better OS, FFDR, and LC for patients with low-grade tumors (p < 0.05). Female patients had significantly better FFDR and OS (p < 0.05).
Conclusion:
It is appropriate to consider withholding irradiation for selected patients with low-grade tumors resected with negative margins if, in the event of a local failure, a function-preserving surgical salvage is anticipated. For patients with high-grade sarcomas, the control of local and distant disease was not acceptable with limb-conservation surgery alone.
