Univ., Diss--Münster (Westfalen), 2005. / Zusfassung in dt. Sprache.

Maligne Weichgewebstumoren des Erwachsenenalters sind mit 1% aller Malignome sehr selten und können grundsätzlich in allen Körperregionen entstehen. Trotz aller Fortschritte in Diagnostik und Therapie besteht unverändert eine schlechte Prognose. Diese ist einerseits in der zum Teil aggressiven Biologie und andererseits durch das Fehlen früher Symptome begründet. In der vorliegenden retrospektiven Studie wurden die Krankenakten von insgesamt 82 Patienten analysiert, die im Zeitraum von 1989 bis 2003 aufgrund eines malignen Weichteilsarkoms in der Chirurgischen Klinik und Poliklinik der Universität Würzburg primär behandelt wurden. Aufgrund der doch deutlich schlechteren Prognose von Patienten mit retroperitonealen Sarkomen im Vergleich zu Patienten mit Sarkomen der Extremität, erfolgte getrennt in diese beiden Hauptgruppen die Analyse der relevanten klinisch-epidemiologischen Parameter sowie die Darstellung der onkologisch relevanten Ergebnisse in Bezug auf Rezidivrate und Überleben nach multimodaler Therapie. Die Gegenüberstellung von Extremitätensarkomen und Sarkomen des Retroperitoneums zeigt deren unterschiedlichen Krankheitsverlauf. Patienten mit Extremitätensarkomen können von einer kombinierten Therapie aus chirurgischer Resektion und Strahlentherapie im Hinblick auf die Lokalrezidivrate profitieren. Ihre Prognose wird bestimmt durch das Auftreten von pulmonalen Metastasen. Patienten mit retroperitonealen Sarkomen können weit weniger häufig strahlentherapeutisch behandelt werden. Zudem führt eine anatomisch bedingte eingeschränkte Resektionsfähigkeit häufiger zum Lokalrezidiv, das dann prognoseentscheidend ist. Die in 2002 neu überarbeitete TNM-Stadieneinteilung der UICC bietet für die retroperitonealen Sarkome keine Verbesserung. Nur Malignitätsgrad und An- bzw. Abwesenheit von Fernmetastasen stehen hier als Kriterien zur Verfügung. Van Dalen formulierte ein Klassifikationssystem, welches die Resektionsradikalität als zusätzliches Kriterium berücksichtigt. Die von ihm definierten Gruppen unterscheiden sich in unserem Patientengut signifikant in ihrem Langzeitüberleben. Wie bereits bei den GIST in exemplarischer Weise verwirklicht, könnten Fortschritte in der Molekularbiologie und Zytogenetik neue Therapieoptionen aufzeigen, welche die nach wie vor schlechte Prognose für Patienten mit Weichteilsarkomen verbessern helfen. / Soft-tissue sarcomas are a relatively rare disease accounting for approximately 1% of adult malignancies. In principle they can occur in all body regions. Despite all the advances in diagnosis and therapy, there is still a poor prognosis. The reasons are an aggressive tumor biology and also the lack of early symptoms. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the medical records of 82 patients who underwent surgery for soft tissue sarcoma in our institution between 1989 and 2003. Patients with retroperitoneal sarcomas have compared to patients with sarcomas of the extremity a significantly worse prognosis. Therefore, we analysed separately the following parameters for these two groups: the relevant clinical and epidemiological data and the presentation of the relevant oncologic results in terms of recurrent disease and survival after multimodal therapy. Our results for sarcoma of the extremity and retroperitoneal sarcoma illustrate their different clinical course. Patients with soft tissue sarcoma of the extremity can benefit from a combined therapy of surgical resection and radiation therapy in view of local recurrence rate. Their prognosis is determined by the occurrence of pulmonary metastases. Patients with retroperitoneal sarcoma can be treated far less with radiation therapy. An anatomically-related limited resectability often leads to local recurrence, which determines the prognosis. The TNM/UICC staging system was revised in 2002. It offers no improvement for retroperitoneal sarcoma. 2004 Van Dalen presented a postsurgical classification system based on grade, completeness of resection, and distant metastasis. We assigned our patients to van Dalen´s classification system. The so-defined groups showed significant difference in their long-term survival. Advances in molecular biology and cytogenetics may provide new therapeutic options, which help to improve the poor prognosis for soft tissue sarcoma patients, already happened with GIST.

No description available.

Objective: Epithelioid sarcoma (ES) presents unique clinical features in comparison to other sarcoma subtypes. Data regarding the benefits of chemotherapy are very limited. Combination regimens using gemcitabine and docetaxel (Gem/Doce) have proven to be effective, especially in uterine and nonuterine leiomyosarcoma. Yet, there is no available data on the efficacy of Gem/Doce in ES. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the three participating institutions was performed. Twenty-eight patients with an ES diagnosis presented at one of the participating institutions between 1989 and 2012. Of this group, 17 patients received chemotherapy. Results: Patients’ median overall survival (OS) after the beginning of palliative chemotherapy was 21 months, and the 1-year OS was 87%. Twelve patients received Gem/Doce with a clinical benefit rate of 83%. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 8 months for all patients receiving Gem/Doce. The best response was complete remission in 1 patient and partial remission in 6 patients. All 6 patients receiving Gem/Doce as a first-line treatment showed measurable responses with a median PFS of 9 months. Conclusions: In this retrospective study, Gem/Doce was an effective chemotherapeutic regimen for ES. Prospective studies are needed to better assess the effects of this combination drug therapy.

Objective: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) and gastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST) are a group of rare malignant tumours with a high and heterogenous disease burden. As evidence is scarce, we analysed the prevalence of increased emotional distress and identified distress‐associated factors in these patients. - Methods: The PROSa‐study (Burden and medical care of sarcoma) was conducted between 2017 and 2020 in 39 study centres. Cross‐sectional data from adult STS and GIST patients were analysed. Distress was measured with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐4). The relation of socioeconomic and clinical factors with distress was explored in adjusted logistic regression models. - Results: Among 897 patients, 17% reported elevated anxiety and 19% reported depression. Unemployed patients (odds ratio [OR] 6.6; 95% CI 2.9–15.0), and those with a disability pension (OR 3.1; 95% CI 1.9–5.0) were more likely to experience distress compared to employed patients. Also, patients with a disability pass had higher odds of increased distress than those without (OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.2–2.7). Lowest distress was observed in patients 2 to <5 years and ≥5 years after diagnosis (comparison: <6 months) (OR 0.4; 95% CI 0.2–0.6) and (0.3; 95% CI 0.2–0.6). Patients with thoracic STS (vs. lower limbs) had twice the odds to experience distress(OR2.0;95%CI 1.1–3.6). Distress was seen almost twice as often in patients with progressive disease (vs. complete remission) (OR 1.7; 95% CI 1.1–2.8). - Conclusion: The prevalence of elevated distress in STS and GIST patients is high. In unemployed patients, in those with a disability pension and in newly diagnosed patients a noticeable increase was observed. Clinicians should be aware of these factors and consider the social aspects of the disease.