Local recurrence is correlated with decreased overall survival in patients with intermediate high-grade localized primary soft tissue sarcoma of extremity and abdominothoracic wall.

AIM: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of local recurrence on overall survival in patients with intermediate high-grade localized primary soft tissue sarcoma (STS) of extremity and abdominothoracic wall.

METHODS: This retrospective study identified 133 consecutive patients with intermediate high-grade localized primary STS of extremity and abdominothoracic wall from January 2000 to July 2010. Survival curves were constructed by the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test was used to assess statistical significance. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated based on multivariable Cox logistic regression method.

RESULTS: The 5-year cumulative incidence of local recurrence was 26.0% with a median follow-up of 68 months (range, 5-127 months). The univariate analysis showed that local recurrence was associated with decreased overall survival, with 5-year overall survival of 80.5% and 53.6% in the no local recurrence patients and local recurrence patients, respectively (P = 0.001). The multivariate analysis demonstrated that local recurrence was a negative prognostic factor for overall survival (HR = 2.115, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.036-4.319, P = 0.040). Radiotherapy significantly reduced local recurrence compared with surgery alone (HR = 0.387, 95% CI 0.180-0.877, P = 0.019), while larger tumor size (HR = 3.184, 95% CI 1.351-7.506 P = 0.008) was correlated with higher rate of local recurrence.

CONCLUSION: Local recurrence in patients with intermediate high-grade localized primary STS is associated with decreased overall survival.