Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors in 75 patients with soft tissue sarcoma

The results of 75 patients with soft-tissue sarcomas treated by the combination of local surgical excision plus postoperative radiotherapy are reported. Thirty-five tumors were situated in the extremities, 32 in the trunk, and eight in the head and neck. Twenty-eight tumors were high grade, 33 intermediate and 14 low grade. Sixty-two patients had complete resections (wide or marginal) and 13 incomplete resections (intralesional). Radiation was administered with a shrinking-field technique (median total dose, 64 Gy; range, 50-78). Twenty-five patients developed local recurrence (33%). The 5-year local control rate was 67%. On univariate analysis, a tumor site other than extremity (p < 0.05), unfavorable histology (p < 0.01), and incomplete resection (p < 0.01) were poor risk factors for local recurrence. When multivariate analysis were performed, only incomplete resection (relative risk (RR) 7.2) remained a poor risk factor. The 5-year overall survival rate was 50.5% for the entire group. Following a univariate analysis of host tumor and treatment-related factors, a tumor site other than extremity (p < 0.05), high tumor grade (p < 0.01) unfavorable histology (p < 0.05), and incomplete tumor resection (p < 0.01) were found to significantly increase the risk of further tumor death. Multivariate analysis found high tumor grade (RR 5.6), and incomplete resection (RR 7) to be independent poor risk factors for survival.