Is compartmental surgery always mandatory in retroperitoneal liposarcoma? A case report of multifocal synchronous...

Sarcomas are rare tumors representing 0.7% of all cancer cases in adults, and approximately 15-20% of those occur in the retroperitoneum. Diagnosis is usually late. Liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma are the most frequent forms. Liposarcomas have high local recurrence rates (35-60%) and a high metastasis rate only if dedifferentiated (30%), whereas leiomyosarcoma has a high distant metastasis rate (60%) and a low local recurrence rate (20%).

A case report of multifocal synchronous well-differentiated liposarcoma is presented. The patient underwent a surgical excision of all the masses. The postoperative period was uneventful, with a postoperative hospital stay of 9 days. The patient underwent systemic chemotherapy and clinical and instrumental follow-up. A relapse of the disease was observed 24 months after surgery: a 25 mm mass was diagnosed close to the pancreatic stump, as well as a 24 mm mass in the left upper abdominal quadrant. The patient underwent a second laparotomy: recurrent lesions were identified and excised en-bloc with the body of the pancreas.

Surgery is the gold standard of therapy. The best chance for curative resection is at the time of the first diagnosis of the disease. Compartmental surgery is a macroscopically complete resection through en bloc excision of adjacent structures, even if not clearly infiltrated. Many controversies still exist in the treatment of retroperitoneal liposarcoma, such as the extent of primary and secondary resections, the benefit of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and when these treatments should be delivered.

Compartmental surgery, Liposarcoma, Surgery, Retroperitoneal sarcoma.