Tumor-skin invasion is a reliable risk factor for poor prognosis in superficial soft tissue sarcomas

Superficial soft tissue sarcomas are often left untreated unless they invade the skin and skin ulcers manifest. Progressive sarcomas frequently result in dismal oncological outcomes despite multidisciplinary treatment. This study aimed to identify prognostic factors for superficial soft tissue sarcomas.

This study retrospectively analyzed the clinicopathological data of 82 patients with superficial soft tissue sarcomas treated between August 2003 and December 2020 at our institution. A superficial soft tissue sarcoma was defined if the percentage of the area occupied by the tumor in the assessed region (skin, subcutaneous) was more than 50%. Age, sex, location, tumor size, tumor-skin invasion, tumor grade, and distant metastasis at initial diagnosis were evaluated as potential prognostic factors. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to identify the prognostic factors. Five-year survival rates were assessed by the Kaplan-Meier method.

The mean follow-up time was 60.1 months. The 5-year overall survival, 5-year local recurrence-free survival, and 5-year metastasis survival rates were 76.4%, 60.6%, and 71.0%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed significant relationships between poor prognosis and tumor size ≥5 cm, distant metastasis at initial diagnosis, and tumor-skin invasion. In the multivariate analysis, only the tumor-skin invasion was associated with worse overall survival.

Superficial soft tissue sarcomas have biologically been considered a separate category due to their better prognosis. In this study, the tumor-skin invasion was the only significant factor associated with a poor prognosis. Therefore, all superficial soft tissue sarcomas without tumor-skin invasion should be treated as early as possible.