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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Bone metastases in soft tissue sarcoma patients: A survey of natural, prognostic value, and treatment.

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10063 Background: Given the limited data currently available, we surveyed the natural history of bone metastases in patients affected by soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Methods: This retrospective, multicenter, observational study evaluated data from 135 patients with STS metastatic to the bone who presented between 2001 and 2011. For all patients, we recorded the primary tumor histological subtype, bone metastases characteristics (onset, site), type of treatment received (surgery, radiotherapy, zoledronic acid), type and frequency of skeletal related events (SRE) and disease outcome. Results: The most represented histological subtypes among the enrolled patients were leiomyosarcoma (27%), angiosarcoma (13%) and spindle cell sarcoma (8%). The spine was the most common site for bone involvement (51%), followed by hip/pelvis (20%), long bones (15%) and other sites (14%). In 27% of cases, bone metastases were present at the time of diagnosis. Fiftyfour patients (40%) developed SREs and the median time to first SRE (if developed) was 4 months. The most common SRE was the need for radiotherapy occurring in 28% of patients followed by pathologic fracture (22%). Patients survived for a median of 6 months after bone metastases diagnosis. The occurrence of a SRE was associated with a decreased overall survival (P=0.04). A subgroup analysis revealed that zoledronic acid significantly prolonged median time to first SRE (5 versus 2 months; P = 0.002). Conversely, It did not determine an improvement in terms of overall survival, even if favorable trend was identified (median, 7 versus 5 months, respectively; P = 0.105). Conclusions: This study illustrates the burden of bone disease from STS and supports the use of zoledronic acid in this setting.