Liposarcoma in children and young adults: a multi-institutional experience

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Oncology
• Surgical Pathology
• Radiation Oncology

Background:

• Limited data exist on pediatric liposarcoma clinical presentation and outcomes compared to adults.
• The efficacy of adjuvant radiotherapy in childhood liposarcoma treatment remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in clinical presentation and outcomes of liposarcoma between pediatric and adult patients.
• To evaluate the role of adjuvant radiotherapy in pediatric liposarcoma treatment.

Main Methods:

• A multi-institutional retrospective analysis of medical records was conducted for patients aged 21 years or younger with a confirmed liposarcoma diagnosis.
• Data on patient demographics, tumor subtype, location, treatment, and outcomes were collected and analyzed.

Main Results:

• Thirty-three pediatric patients were analyzed; 24 had myxoid and 7 had pleomorphic liposarcoma.
• Myxoid liposarcomas predominantly occurred in extremities with no metastases and showed excellent prognosis, with only one death from progressive disease after multimodal therapy.
• Pleomorphic liposarcomas occurred in axial sites, and despite multimodal therapy, 6 out of 7 patients relapsed, with 4 deaths from progressive disease.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric liposarcoma exhibits distinct presentation and outcomes compared to adult cases.
• Myxoid liposarcoma is the common pediatric subtype, presenting in extremities with a favorable prognosis.
• Pleomorphic liposarcoma in children has a poor prognosis, necessitating further research into optimal therapeutic strategies.