Multimodality Treatment in Adult Patients with High-risk Soft-tissue Sarcomas

Abstract

Objective: We enrolled retrospective data to determine the efficacy of combined chemotherapy and surgery for local tumour control and survival in patients with high-risk soft-tissue sarcomas. Methods: We collected data from 25 patients with high-risk soft-tissue sarcomas treated with four cycles of etoposide, ifosfamide and doxorubicin (EIA) followed by definitive surgery with or without postoperative radiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy. 21 patients received chemotherapy in a neoadjuvant/adjuvant clinical setting; eighteen of them completed adjuvant chemotherapy. Four patients received chemotherapy in an adjuvant setting only. Results: The objective response rate of neoadjuvant chemotherapy assessable in 21 patients was 43%. Including NED (n=7) and partial remissions (n=3), the radiographic response rate was 47.6% with additional 42.9% stable diseases (n=9). Surgery was performed in two patients before completing four neoadjuvant chemotherapy cycles because of disease progression. Median overall survival for all patients was 21.6+ months. After completion of chemotherapy, in 62% of patients R0-resection could be performed. Conclusion: High proportion of R0-resections supports the idea of tumour down-staging after neoadjuvant treatment. Response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy is predictive for improved local tumour control resulting in long-term survival benefit.