Surgical treatment of retroperitoneal liposarcoma

Retroperitoneal liposarcoma (RL) is a relatively rare tumor and is usually found at the advanced stage. Chemotherapy or radiotherapy for this tumor is not yet defined, and if operable, surgery is the treatment of choice. Complete resection of tumor with wide margins including excision of other organs has been recommended. However, many patients suffer from deterioration of the quality of a postoperative life. In the present study, we retrospectively analyzed the ideal surgical procedures for treating RL.

RL patients treated at our institute between 2003 and 2013 amounted to 10. RL was primary in 5 patients and recurrent in the rest 5. We analyzed cases of the 10 patients retrospectively.

Tumor resection was performed for 9 patients, 7 of whom underwent complete tumor resection. RL was well-differentiated in 6 patients and dedifferentiated in 4. We analyzed the overall survival of 10 patients, and the relapse free survival of the operated 9 patients. Patients with well-differentiated RL showed better survival than those with dedifferentiated RL. Even the recurrent RL was huge, complete tumor resection could be performed in the well-differentiated type, but it was difficult in the dedifferentiated type.

In the recurrent huge RL, the chance of a margin-negative resection remains low, but surgery remains the treatment of choice. Tumor resection with preserving important organs may improve patients' quality of postoperative life and survival.