Growth rate of soft tissue sarcomas: a quantitative study of 44 local recurrences

Local recurrences of soft tissue sarcomas in 44 patients were studied to quantify their growth rate. The geometric mean of the doubling time of 32 cases previously treated with surgery only (14.8 days) was similar to that of 10 cases treated with surgery plus radiotherapy (14.1 days), and was less than that of most malignant human tumors. There was no significant difference in doubling times of first and successive recurrences. From the study it appears that the site of the primary and the age of the patient may affect the behavior of the tumor.