Survival and prognostic factors in patients undergoing pulmonary metastasectomy for lung metastases from retroperitoneal sarcoma

BACKGROUND: Soft-tissue sarcomas are rare malignancies that consist of many different histologic subtypes and arise in various locations in the body. In patients with lung metastases from retroperitoneal sarcomas, the long-term outcomes and prognostic factors are unknown. This study is a retrospective review of patients undergoing pulmonary metastasectomy for retroperitoneal sarcoma metastases at one institution, with the purpose of determining prognostic factors and clinical outcomes. METHODS: This is a single-center, retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing pulmonary metastasectomy for lung metastases from various sarcomas at Okayama University Hospital from January 2006 to December 2018. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test were used for the analyses, and cut-off values of continuous variables were determined by a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients underwent the first pulmonary metastasectomy for lung metastases from retroperitoneal sarcoma in our hospital. Leiomyosarcoma was the most common histologic subtype of retroperitoneal sarcoma (79.2%, n = 19). Median overall survival was 49.9 months, and the 3-year and 5-year survival rates after the first pulmonary metastasectomy were 62.5% and 26.4% respectively. In univariate analysis, age ≥56 years, disease-free interval < 15 months, and size of metastasis (≥ 27 mm) were associated with poor survival. CONCLUSION: Pulmonary metastasectomy can be considered as an effective management strategy in retroperitoneal sarcoma patients with lung metastases in appropriately selected cases, just as it is for other sarcomas.