Epidemiology of Adult Soft-Tissue Sarcomas in Germany

Abstract

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using data compiled from the regional German cancer registries by the Centre for Cancer Registry Data (ZfKD) at the Robert Koch Institut (RKI) to describe the epidemiology of adult soft-tissue sarcomas (STS) in Germany in 2003–2012, focusing on advanced STS. We identified 33,803 incident adult cases of STS (other than the Kaposi sarcoma and gastrointestinal stromal tumors). The incidence of STS was 6.05 (95% confidence interval (CI), 5.82–6.29) per 100,000 in 2012 (4,079 cases). During 2003–2012, the most common histologic categories were leiomyosarcoma (19%), liposarcoma (16%), and STS not otherwise specified (14%). The overall STS-specific mortality rate in 2012 was 2.31 (95% CI, 2.06–2.57) per 100,000, and the median overall survival from initial diagnosis was 5.83 (95% CI, 5.50–6.08) years. Using STS mortality rates as a proxy for incidence of advanced STS in Germany and applying the age- and sex-specific rates to the corresponding German population, we estimated that 1,581 incident adult advanced STS cases occurred in Germany in 2012. Our findings contribute to a refined understanding of the population burden of STS in Germany, including the number of patients with advanced STS who may be candidates for systemic treatment.

The Impact of Surgical Margins and Adjuvant Radiotherapy in Patients with Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcomas of the Extremities: A Single-Institutional Analysis of 192 Patients

“…Soft tissue sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of rare, solid malignancies with a mesenchymal origin. They account for approximately 1% of all adult malignancies with an incidence rate of 6 per 100,000 inhabitants [1,2]. Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) comprise a group of more than 50 different histologic subtypes that differ in their oncological behavior and outcome [3].…”

Soft Tissue Sarcoma – a Current Review of the Diagnostic and Treatment Strategies

“…Eine zu frühe Bagatellisierung als Lipom, Hämatom oder Bursitis mit daraus resultierender Diagnostik-und Therapieverzögerung muss unbedingt vermieden wer-▶ Tab. 1 Häufigkeiten und 5-Jahres-Überlebensraten der adulten Weichteilsarkome in Deutschland [8].…”

“…Während die Erkrankungsprognose aufgrund einer im Mittel leicht verspäteten Diagnosestellung bei den Tumoren des Kopfes und Rumpfes für die Extremitätenmanifestationen einen leichten Überlebensvorteil von 74 zu 62 % zeigt, weist das Gesamtüberleben nach 5 Jahren einen geringen Geschlechterschied zugunsten des männlichen Geschlechts von 61,2 zu 60,4 % (m/w) auf [7]. Im Kindes-und Jugendalter zeigen Rhabdomyosarkome (24,2 %) und neurale Tumoren (39,1 %) die höchste Inzidenz, wohingegen im Erwachsenenalter die Leiomyosarkome (19 %) und Liposarkome (16 %) dominieren [7,8] (▶ Tab. 1).…”

Intraoperative radiotherapy with low energy x-rays for primary and recurrent soft-tissue sarcomas

“…With an approximate overall incidence of 6/100000 [1] and less than 1% of the all-cancers global prevalence, sarcoma is a rare tumor entity [2]. However, it accounts for 13.040 new patients per year in the US [3] and the overall lethality of this tumor is still high [4].…”