Forty-nine adult patients with soft tissue sarcomas of the thoracic wall have been treated by the Division of Surgical Oncology at the University of Illinois. Fibrosarcoma was the most common histologic type (20%). Patients with dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans had the longest mean overall survival time (150.8 months). The mean overall survival time for all patients was 98.2 months, and the disease-free 2-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates were 68%, 51%, and 34%, respectively. Wide excision was the treatment of choice; selected patients also received adjuvant radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or both. In all 10-year survivors, the sarcomas were low grade and well differentiated, or were 15.0 cm in diameter. Aggressive treatment afforded these patients good long-term results.
Cancer 59:370-373, 1987.
OFT TISSUE SARCOMAS of the thorax are relatively S rare and are often approached by the physician in a suboptimal fashion, causing delays in accurate diagnosis and initiation of appropriate therapy. To better characterize this disease entity, we have retrospectively reviewed the experience of the Division of Surgical Oncology at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Patients and Methods
The hospital charts of 49 adult patients with a diagnosis of thoracic soft tissue sarcoma were reviewed. All clinical data were accumulated by our cancer registry system. Twenty-five patients were men and 24 were women. Their ages ranged from 16 to 75 years.
Histologic diagnoses were established by light and electron microscopy. Staging was done by the method approved by the Joint Commission of the American College of Surgeons.' Forty-six patients presented with complaints of a palpable mass in the thoracic area, and two others had respiratory symptoms. In one patient, the diagnosis was made during routine follow-up. One patient had received radiation therapy for Hodgkin's lymphoma. A fibrosar-