PurposeThe role of adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) for soft tissue sarcomas (STS) is not standard practice. We investigated effectiveness and tolerability of ACT in patients (pts) with operated high-risk STS in clinical practice.MethodsMedical records of pts with localized STS referred to Istituto Oncologico Veneto, Padova, from January 1, 2003 to July 07, 2012 were reviewed. Data were collected for pts with high-risk STS (size ≥5 cm, high grade and stage III). For those who received ACT, regimens used, drug doses, number of cycles, toxicity, and reasons for dose reduction or treatment interruption were recorded. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated with the Kaplan–Meier method.ResultsOut of 96 eligible pts, median age 62 years, 36 received ACT after loco-regional treatment. Median DFS was 29.6 months (95 % CI 13.2–46.0) in pts receiving ACT and 7.8 months (95 % CI 3.9–11.7) in untreated pts (p < 0.0001); median OS was 67.0 months (95 % CI 25.4–108.6) in treated and 33.7 months (95 % CI 23.3–44.2) in untreated pts (p = 0.005). Among pts receiving ACT, a significant difference in DFS was observed between pts with limb/girdle disease (median DFS 82.4 months; 95 % CI 0.0–184.7) and pts with other primary sites (median DFS 18.3 months; 95 % CI 8.0–28.5) (p = 0.052). Grade ≥3 toxicities occurred in 20 pts (20.8 %), leading to dose reductions, delays, and treatment discontinuation in five cases. There was no treatment-related death.ConclusionOur data confirm benefit of ACT with regard to DFS and OS in pts with high-risk STS, greatest for limb/girdle STS.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.