Long-term results after resection for soft tissue sarcoma pulmonary metastases

Isolated pulmonary metastases from soft tissue sarcomas (STS) occur in approximately 20% of the cases. Chemotherapy and surgical resection are the current standard treatment options for these patients. Our goal was to identify any prognostic factors for these patients as well as to estimate their long-term survival rate. We examined a series of twenty-two consecutive patients with pulmonary metastases from STS, treated in our institution from 1996 to 2006. Univariate (log-rank and Cox-regression) analysis was performed to identify any significant prognostic factor. Five-year survival rates were estimated by using Kaplan-Meier methods. Four patients (18.2%) were alive without any disease, twelve patients (54.5%) died of disease and we lost all track of six patients (27.3%). Follow-up period ranged from 7 to 75 months. Median follow-up: 14 months, median survival: 19 months. Disease-free interval (DFI) (P=0.005), number of lung nodules (P=0.04) and histology type (P=0.01) were significant prognostic factors at univariate analysis. The overall five-year survival rate was 23.1%. DFI, number of lung nodules at surgery and metastatic histology are significant prognostic factors for patients with resected pulmonary metastases from STS.