Advanced soft-tissue sarcoma in elderly patients: patterns of care and survival

There are no data regarding the management of advanced soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) in elderly patients.

We retrospectively reviewed the charts of patients ≥75 years old diagnosed with metastatic or unresectable STS between 1991 and 2011 in 11 French and American centers.

The study included 361 patients. Of these, 223 patients (62%) received systemic therapy, whereas 123 patients (34%) were managed with best supportive care (BSC) only. Patients who received BSC were more likely to be ≥80 years, with performance status (PS) ≥ 2, Charlson comorbidity score ≥ 10, and metastatic disease. The median progression-free survival of patients treated with systemic therapy was 4 months (95% CI: 2.9-5.1). Thirty-six patients (16%) stopped chemotherapy because of toxicity. Median overall survival (OS) of patients managed with specific therapy was 10.9 months (95% CI: 8.3-13.5) versus 5.3 months (95% CI: 3.6-7.1) for patients managed with BSC (P = 0.001). On multivariate analysis, age ≥ 80 years, PS ≥ 2, and number of metastatic sites were the only independent factors associated with OS.

A high proportion of elderly patients with advanced STS were denied chemotherapy. Further efforts are needed to define better the optimal care for fit and unfit elderly patients with STS.