Primary anatomical site as a prognostic factor for pleomorphic liposarcoma - Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology

Background

Pleomorphic liposarcomas (PLS) is an aggressive, high-grade subtype of soft tissue sarcoma representing < 15% of liposarcomas. It most commonly arises in the retroperitoneum and proximal upper extremities. Current prognostic factors are centered around staging, which accounts for the grade, size, and location of the tumor in relation to the superficial fascia.

Methods

750 patients diagnosed with pleomorphic liposarcoma from the National Cancer Database were analyzed. Kaplan–Meier survival tables, log-rank tests, and Cox proportional hazards analysis were utilized to compare survival between groups within variables.

Results

The most common primary anatomical site was the lower limb/hip. The head/neck primary anatomical site demonstrated the highest 10-year overall survival probability, while the retroperitoneum/abdomen had the lowest (50% and 18.4%). Compared to the thorax/lung site, the following sites demonstrated a decreased risk of death: lower limb/hip (HR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.35–0.82, p = 0.004), pelvis (HR = 0.49; 95% CI: 0.28–0.84, p = 0.010), and the retroperitoneum/abdomen (HR = 0.54; 95% CI: 0.33–0.89, p = 0.015). Both adjuvant radiation (HR = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.48–0.85, p = 0.002) and neoadjuvant radiation (HR = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.49–1.00, p = 0.049) provided a survival benefit to patients. There was an increased risk of death for every 10-year increment in age (HR = 1.31; 95% CI: 1.12–1.45, p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Statistically significant prognostic factors for PLS include primary anatomical site, age, Charlson-Deyo Comorbidity Index Scores and the use of neoadjuvant and adjuvant radiation.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Creighton University School of Medicine, 2500 California Plaza, Omaha, NE, 68178, USA

   Hea Gie Lee & Jonathan Gootee

2. Division of Clinical Research and Evaluative Sciences, Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, NE, USA

   Sarah Aurit

3. Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Creighton University Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA

   Peter Silberstein

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan Gootee.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The need for ethical approval was waived by the Creighton University Biomedical IRB (project number: 1427838) and formal consent was not required.

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