Pathologic Complete Response and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Localized Soft Tissue Sarcoma Treated With...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Clinical Trials
• Surgical Oncology

Background:

• Pathologic complete response (pCR) is a potential prognostic indicator in soft tissue sarcoma (STS).
• The prognostic significance of pCR in STS patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prognostic value of pCR on survival outcomes in localized STS patients.
• To provide a long-term update on survival for patients in RTOG 0630.

Main Methods:

• Ancillary analysis of 143 patients from two nonrandomized Phase 2 trials (RTOG 0630 and RTOG 9514).
• Patients received either neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CT-RT) or preoperative radiotherapy (RT) alone.
• Survival outcomes (OS, DFS) were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox models.

Main Results:

• pCR was achieved by 27.5% in RTOG 9514 and 19.4% in RTOG 0630.
• Patients with pCR had 100% 5-year overall survival (OS) in RTOG 9514.
• pCR was significantly associated with improved OS (P=.01) and DFS (HR, 4.91; P=.008), and reduced local failure rates.

Conclusions:

• pCR is a significant prognostic factor for improved survival in soft tissue sarcoma patients.
• Achieving pCR is associated with superior overall survival and disease-free survival.
• pCR should be considered in future clinical trial designs and prognostic assessments for STS.