Author(s): Mohammed Al-Qahtani and Alhasan Asiri
Outcomes of the management of retroperitoneal sarcoma in the Northern Alberta (NA), Canada was examined in this study. 75 patients (34 females and 41 males, age range 30-87 years) underwent operations at the CCI for PRS (sarcomas represented 61% of all the cases). A retrospective analysis of these patients was performed to determine the prognostic parameters associated with a favorable prognosis. Complete resection was possible in 33% of cases (n = 25), incomplete resection was performed in 35% (n = 26) and in 32% (n = 24) only biopsy was possible. Frequently resected adjacent organs were: kidney (15%), colon (10%) and pancreas (6%). Univariate analysis demonstrated that complete resection was an independent factor for survival as compared to partial resection or biopsy alone (p=0.001). Patients with complete resection had a 12 month survival of 100% (n = 25) compared to 84% (n = 22) for those undergoing partial resection and 25% (n = 5) for those with simple biopsy. A 24-month survival of the patients undergoing complete resection was 88% (n = 22). Median survival for type of surgical treatment was 91.2 (88.2-104.9) months for complete resection compared to 30.4 (24.2-41.5) months for partial resection and only 5.7 (2.6-8.1) months for biopsy. Complete resection is the cornerstone of the treatment and is important for long-term survival in patients with retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcomas.