Background and objectives: Reoperation is recommended for resectable retroperitoneal sarcoma (RS) recurrence; however, the long-term overall survival (OS) benefit varies. Although histologic grade is an important OS predictor after primary tumor resection, its prognostic value tends to diminish with subsequent reoperations. The objective of this study was to identify prognostic factors of OS after reoperation for recurrent RS.
Methods: The medical records of 95 patients who underwent resection for RS at Seoul National University Hospital between January 1999 and July 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. Of the 95 patients, 50 patients underwent second resection for recurrence, and 26 of these patients underwent third resection. Prognostic factors were analyzed at each reoperation.
Results: Higher histologic grade and gross residual disease were poor prognostic factors of OS after first resection. After second resection, higher histologic grade and time since previous operation of within 1 year were poor prognostic factors. After third resection, only contiguous organ resection was a significant independent prognostic factor.
Conclusions: The significance of prognostic factors changes with repetitive reoperations for RS recurrence. The prognostic value of histologic grade diminishes after the third resection, whereas other clinical factors such as time since previous operation and contiguous organ resection achieve significance.
Keywords: prognostic factor; recurrence; retroperitoneal sarcoma.
© 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.