The value of surgery for retroperitoneal sarcoma

Introduction. Retroperitoneal sarcomas are uncommon large malignant tumors. Methods. Forty-one consecutive patients with localized retroperitoneal sarcoma were retrospectively studied. Results. Median age was 58 years (range 20-91 years). Median tumor size was 17.5cm (range 4-41cm). Only 2 tumors were 5cm. Most were liposarcoma (44) and high-grade (59). 59 were stage 3 and the rest was stage 1. Median followup was 10 months (range 1-106 months). Thirty-eight patients had an initial complete resection; 15 (37) developed recurrent sarcoma and 12 (80) had a second complete resection. Patients with an initial complete resection had a 5-year survival of 46. For all patients, tumor grade affected overall survival (P=.006). Complete surgical resection improved overall survival for high-grade tumors (P=.03). Conclusions. Tumor grade/stage and complete surgical resection for high-grade tumors are important prognostic variables. Radiation therapy or chemotherapy had no significant impact on overall or recurrence-free survival. Complete surgical resection is the treatment of choice for patients with initial and locally recurrent retroperitoneal sarcoma.