Is amputation necessary for sarcomas? A seven-year experience with limb salvage

The rationale for amputation for local tumor control of skeletal and soft tissue sarcomas was based on results obtained from surgical therapy alone. However, our previous results from a pilot trial of multimodality therapy of preoperative chemotherapy and radiation therapy followed by surgical resection indicated that limb salvage (without amputation) could be accomplished in most patients with little morbidity and low recurrence rate. This report summarizes our experience in a prospective trial from January 1972 to December 1979. A total of 105 consecutive patients with soft tissue sarcomas (65 patients) or bone sarcomas (40 patients) were treated with preoperative intraarterial adriamycin, 3500 rads of rapid-fraction radiation and radical en bloc resection of primary tumor. Diseased bones were replaced with cadaver allografts (22 patients), metallic endoprostheses (10 patients) autologous bone (2 patients), or no replacement (ilium or fibula-4 patients). Salvage of a viable, neurologically intact, functional extremity was achieved in 98/105 patients (98%); 97% of limb salvage patients were free of local recurrence after a median follow-up period of 28 months. Major complication rate that required amputation was 3/105 patients (2%). Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with cyclical adriamycin and high-dose methotrexate was employed for all patients with osteosarcoma and 35 patients with grade III soft tissue sarcomas. The overall disease-free rate is 50% (18/35) for osteosarcomas and 65% (42/65) for soft tissue sarcomas. These results indicate that local tumor control can be achieved in 91% of patients without amputation. Their functional capabilities are excellent with a low complication rate. Since the advent of adriamycin and methotrexate has significantly improved the overall survival for patients with skeletal and soft tissue sarcomas, the quality of this survival has become even more important. Preoperative multimodality therapy is a major advance in this direction and since results of limb salvage procedures appear to be equal or superior to those achieved by amputation we believe these alternatives should be offered to all patients.