Impact of time to first relapse on long-term outcome in adult retroperitoneal sarcoma patients after radical resection

BACKGROUND: Local recurrence of primary retroperitoneal sarcoma (RPS) is one of the major causes of treatment failure and death. We attempted to assess the effects of time to local recurrence (TLR) on the survival after recurrence (SAR) and overall survival (OS) of RPS. METHODS: Included in this study were 224 patients who underwent R0 resection for primary RPS at our institution between January 2000 and December 2020, 118 of whom had local recurrence. Based on the median TLR (19.8 months), patients were divided into two groups: early local recurrence (ELR < 20 months) and late local recurrence (LLR > 20 months). The Kaplan–Meier method was employed to calculate the local recurrence-free survival (LRFS), SAR and OS. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to explore the prognostic value of TLR. RESULTS: The median follow-up time was 60.5 months for the entire cohort and 58.5 months for the recurrence cohort. There were 60 (50.8%) patients in the ELR group and 58 (49.2%) in the LLR group. The ELR group exhibited a worse SAR (29.2 months vs. 73.4 months, P < 0.001), OS (41.8 months vs. 120.9 months, P < 0.001), and a lower 5-year OS rate (35.9% vs. 73.2%, P = 0.004) than the LLR group. Furthermore, multivariate analysis indicated that TLR was an independent prognostic indicator for SAR (P = 0.014) and OS (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with RPS, ELR after R0 resection presents adverse effects on OS and SAR than those with LLR, and TLR could serve as a promising predictor for OS and SAR. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10147-022-02205-w.