Multivisceral resection for retroperitoneal liposarcoma-is it worth it? A 20-year single-center experience

Purpose Soft tissue sarcomas are rare malignant tumors. Liposarcoma constitutes the most frequent histological subtype of retroperitoneal sarcoma. The prognosis of soft tissue sarcomas depends on clinical and histologic characteristics. Objective Evaluate variables that may be related to the overall and local recurrence-free survival in patients with retroperitoneal liposarcoma and discuss the need for visceral resection en-bloc for tumors. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of the medical records of 60 patients seen between 1997 and 2017 who underwent surgical resection of retroperitoneal liposarcoma. Results The overall survival rate at 5 years of follow-up was 75.22% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.58–0.86). The probability of a local recurrence-free survival at 5 years of follow-up was 26.04% (95% CI 0.11–0.44). The multivariate analysis showed that dedifferentiated or pleomorphic tumors and R2/fragmented resection were associated with a shorter time to recurrence. No other characteristics markedly influenced the overall survival ( P > 0.05). Conclusion Patients with dedifferentiated or pleomorphic tumors and incomplete resection were associated with higher local recurrence rates than others. This study reinforces the need for complete and en-bloc resection with organs when there is clear involvement or technical surgical difficulty to maintain the tumor integrity.