Soft tissue sarcomas of the head and neck in adults
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
1-1-1990
Journal
The American Journal of Surgery
Volume
160
Issue
4
DOI
10.1016/S0002-9610(05)80544-6
Abstract
We reviewed the clinical records and pathologic material of 176 adults with primary soft tissue sarcomas treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center between 1950 and 1985. Seventy-two patients (41%) had low-grade sarcomas and 104 (59%) had high-grade sarcomas. All but 18 patients underwent some form of excision as initial therapy. Adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy combined with surgical excision showed no significant effect. A significantly increased risk of treatment failure was associated with large tumor size, positive surgical margins, bone involvement, local recurrence, metastatic spread, and high histologic grade. Except for recurrence, the p value by univariate analysis in the log-rank test for comparison of survival according to these clinical and pathologic characteristics was p<0.0001. Although the overall survival was 75% at 2 years, 55% at 5 years, and 46% at 10 years, only 20% of the patients with high-grade sarcomas were alive 10 years after treatment. Most patients with rhabdomyosarcoma, high-grade peripheral nerve tumor, and high-grade fibrous histiocytoma and all patients with high-grade angiosarcoma died of disease less than 5 years after diagnosis. New therapeutic strategies are needed to improve the survival of adult patients with high-grade soft tissue sarcomas of the head and neck. © 1990 Reed Publishing USA.
APA Citation
Farhood, A., Hajdu, S., Shiu, M., & Strong, E. (1990). Soft tissue sarcomas of the head and neck in adults. The American Journal of Surgery, 160 (4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9610(05)80544-6
