Ng YCS, Tan MH
Correspondence: Dr Ng Yung Chuan Sean, seanng31@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Introduction Liposarcoma is one of the more common types of soft tissue sarcomas, presenting with a wide spectrum of clinical behaviour. However, there is little information on the outcome, management and survivability of patients with extremity liposarcoma in Singapore.
Methods A retrospective review of all the patients with extremity liposarcoma, diagnosed between 1997 and 2007, was performed. Univariate and multivariate statistics were used on the data to evaluate the clinical presentations, treatment, outcome and survivability of patients seen.
Results Over a ten-year period, 30 patients were seen for primary liposarcoma of the extremities. Three patients dropped out and 27 were managed and followed-up. Management included surgery and/or radiotherapy. Histological subtypes included 14 (51.9 percent) well-differentiated, five (18.5 percent) myxoid, four (14.8 percent) de-differentiated, and two (7.4 percent) each of round cell and pleomorphic variants. Four patients (14.8 percent) developed local or metastatic recurrent disease. The mean follow-up was 53 months, and the survival rate with primary disease at 53 months was 92.6 percent. The recurrence-free survival for primary disease at 53 months was 85.2 percent.
Conclusion Liposarcoma of the extremities is relatively rare compared to other major soft tissue tumours. It is a highly pleomorphic disease, whose outcome is dependent on the histological subtype. Limb-sparing management includes wide resection of the tumour with/without radiation postoperatively.
Keywords: dedifferentiated liposarcoma, limb-sparing surgery, lipomatous tumour, liposarcoma, musculoskeletal tumour, soft tissue sarcoma
Singapore Med J 2009; 50(9): 857-861
