The role of adjuvant chemotherapy in children and adolescents with surgically resected, high-risk adult-type soft tissue sarcomas

• Published in: Pediatric blood & cancer Vol. 45; no. 2; pp. 128 - 134
• Main Authors: Ferrari, Andrea, Brecht, Ines B., Koscielniak, Ewa, Casanova, Michela, Scagnellato, Angela, Bisogno, Gianni, Alaggio, Rita, Cecchetto, Giovanni, Catania, Serena, Meazza, Cristina, Int-Veen, Christoph, Kirsch, Sylvia, Dantonello, Tobias, Carli, Modesto, Treuner, Joern
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.08.2005; Wiley
• Subjects: adjuvant chemotherapy; Adolescent; adult-type soft tissue sarcomas; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; Child; Child, Preschool; Disease-Free Survival; Female; General aspects; Germany - epidemiology; Humans; Italy - epidemiology; Male; Medical sciences; non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcomas; pediatric soft tissue sarcomas; Sarcoma - drug therapy; Sarcoma - mortality; Sarcoma - surgery; Soft Tissue Neoplasms - drug therapy; Soft Tissue Neoplasms - mortality; Soft Tissue Neoplasms - surgery; Survival Rate; Tumors; Italy; Germany; Human; Pediatrics; High risk; adjuvant chemotherapy; Rhabdomyosarcoma; Adjuvant treatment; Soft tissue sarcoma; Malignant tumor; non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcomas; Striated muscle disease; pediatric soft tissue sarcomas; Cancerology; adult-type soft tissue sarcomas; Surgery; Adolescent; Adult; Child
• ISSN: 1545-5009; 1545-5017
• DOI: 10.1002/pbc.20376

Purpose This analysis evaluates whether adjuvant chemotherapy can be recommended for high‐risk, surgically‐resected, adult‐type non‐rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcomas (NRSTS) within the new European Pediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group (EpSSG) protocol. The Italian and German Cooperative Groups reviewed their data‐bases, analyzing patients classified as group I–II, with high‐grade tumor (G3) larger than 5 cm in size. Methods The analysis included 36 patients, and compared the clinical features and outcome of the group of 21 patients who received chemotherapy versus the group of 15 patients treated with local therapies only. Results For the series as a whole, 5‐year event‐free survival (EFS), metastasis‐free survival (MFS), and overall survival (OS) were 26.2%, 34.0%, and 37.5%, respectively. In patients treated with chemotherapy, MFS and OS were 49.5% and 41.5% (median time to relapse: 13 months). In patients who did not receive chemotherapy, MFS and OS were 0% and 23.8% (median time to relapse: 3 months). Conclusion The role of adjuvant chemotherapy in NRSTS is still uncertain, however, the current retrospective analysis showed that: (1) despite the globally good prognosis of grossly‐resected cases, patients with G3 and large‐size have a high‐risk of metastatic spread, and (2) MFS appears to be better in patients who had chemotherapy. Based in part on these results, and in accordance with recent suggestions coming from the literature on adult sarcomas, the EpSSG NRSTS protocol will recommend adjuvant chemotherapy in high‐risk surgically‐resected patients. Pediatr Blood Cancer © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.