Repeated resection for intra-abdominal and retroperitoneal liposarcomas: long-term experience in a single cancer center in Japan

Intra-abdominal or retroperitoneal liposarcomas are huge, and local recurrence is a common event. There is still no consensus concerning debulking or repeated resection. Twelve patients who had surgery for intra-abdominal or retroperitoneal liposarcomas at the Cancer Institute Hospital (Tokyo, Japan) during 1981-2002 were enrolled. Eight patients underwent complete resection, for a resectability rate of 67%. Combined resection of adjacent organs was necessary to obtain clear margins in 10 of the 12 patients (83%). A patient who underwent R2 resection survived 13.2 years in a dormant state without tumor regrowth. Resection of second (five patients), third (three patients), or seventh (one patient) for local recurrence or regrowth tumors was successfully performed. A patient survived 21.5 years after four R0 resections and three R2 resections. Our experience suggests that both near-total and repeated resection might improve survival benefit.