[Liposarcoma of the extremities: recent developments in surgical therapy--analysis of 167 patients]

Liposarcoma is the second most common malignant soft-tissue tumor in adults. Between 1991 and 2002, 167 patients with extremity liposarcomas were treated in our center. Fifty tumors were classified as G1 liposarcomas (30%), 76 as G2 liposarcomas (45.5%), and 41 as G3 liposarcomas (24.5%). In 158 patients, (93.5%) wide tumor excision was performed. Major amputation was necessary in five patients. After a median follow-up of 36 months, 37 patients had developed local recurrence. The 5-year overall survival rate was 79%. The 5-year survival rate in primary tumors was 71/79 (90%, P<0.05) whereas 61/88 of recurrences relapsed locally (69%, P<0.05). Multidisciplinary cooperation in a tumor board is a precondition for adequate treatment.