Nonosseous sarcomas in a military hospital

This is a retrospective review of 67 patients with soft tissue or visceral sarcomas treated during 1973-1982. There were 40 males and 27 females. The mean age was 36 with a range of 1 to 77 years of age. The most common histologic subtypes were rhabdomyosarcoma (19%), malignant fibrohistiocytoma (13%), fibrosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (12% each), and liposarcoma (10%). Among the 42 soft tissue sarcomas 33% occurred in the trunk, 35% and 21% in the lower and upper extremities, and 10% in the head and neck region. Among the 25 visceral sarcomas, 16% were in the thorax, 56% involved abdominal or retroperitoneal organs, and 28% were in the head and neck region. Overall, 33 of the 54 patients with early sarcomas were treated by surgical resection alone while 21 others had postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. Factors influencing survival are presented and patterns of metastasis discussed. Overall, 45% of the patients showed metastatic disease either at diagnosis (15%) or during the follow-up period (30%). The lung was involved in two-thirds of the cases and was the most common site of spread. In patients with rhabdomyosarcoma and malignant fibrohistiocytoma, regional lymph node metastasis was noted in 36% and 17%, respectively.