The clinical outcome of recurrent sacral chordoma with further surgical treatment

Case series. To analyze the clinical results and related factors of further surgical treatment for recurrent sacral chordomas. Chordomas are rare primary malignant tumors with a high recurrence rate. The treatment of recurrent tumors is difficult and controversial. Contamination by previous operations and disturbed local anatomical structures may increase the risk of reoperation. Most previous studies have focused on the primary tumor; there are very few reports on the clinical diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of recurrent sacral chordomas. Thirty-four patients with recurrent sacral chordomas from 1979 to 2014 were included in this study. The patients comprised 25 men and 9 women with an average age of 50.7 (24–75) years. The average time until recurrence was 19.4 (4–51) months postoperatively, and 85.3% of the recurrent tumors were located in bone. The patients had an average of 1.2 (1–3) recurrences before further operations were performed in our hospital. The mean maximum tumor diameter was 8.1 (4.6–12.0) cm. Thirty-one patients underwent further tumor resection in our hospital. The postoperative recurrence, metastasis, and survival results were followed and analyzed. The mean follow-up after surgical treatment of recurrence was 49.6 (12–144) months. Nine patients (37.5%) developed recurrence again after an average of 26.7 months. The 3-year and 5-year recurrence-free survival rate was 69.4% and 63.1%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that the tumor level within the sacrum (P = .001) and the surgical margin (P = .001) were significant recurrence-related factors. Four patients (16.7%) developed lung metastasis. Eighteen patients were alive at last follow-up. The 5-year and 10-year survival rate after surgical treatment of recurrence was 67.3% and 53.9%, respectively. Most recurrent tumors are located in bone, and a safe osteotomy margin is important. The surgical margin is the only controllable factor of further tumor recurrence. Some patients with recurrence achieve long survival and obtain a clinical benefit from repeated operations if complete resection is achieved.