Recurrence patterns after resection of soft tissue sarcomas of the chest wall

Soft tissue sarcoma (STS) of the chest wall is uncommon, and our knowledge is limited to small, single institutional case series. Although some series have examined prognostic factors for survival with this rare set of neoplasms, our knowledge of the patterns of relapse is limited.

We performed a retrospective review of a prospectively maintained database of consecutive patients treated for STS of the chest wall. Predictors of survival and recurrence were analyzed using Cox and competing-risk regression analyses.

From 1989 to 2011, 192 patients underwent resection for STS of the chest wall. The most common histopathologic type was desmoid (33 [17%]), followed by undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (32 [16%]), liposarcoma (22 [11%]), and myxofibrosarcoma (22 [11%]). The median follow-up was 50.9 months. The 5- and 10-year survival rates were 73% and 61%, respectively. Recurrences occurred in 45 patients (23%): 17 developed local recurrences, and 28 developed distant recurrences. Among the patients who developed recurrences, the median time to event was 11.6 months for local recurrences and 13.5 months for distant recurrences. The most common histologic type among recurrences was undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (n = 12), and the most common site of distant recurrences was lung (n = 18). The primary treatment modality for both local and distant recurrences was surgical resection; median survival after recurrence was 19.4 months.

Recurrences of STS are common after surgical resection. Although local or distant recurrences can occur soon after surgery, both can often be treated with resection, producing reasonable outcomes.