Fibrosarcoma—a clinicopathologic and statistical study of 199 tumors of the soft tissues of the extremities and trunk

Abstract

The records of all adult patients with soft-tissue fibrosarcoma of the extremities or limb girdles treated at the Mayo Clinic between 1910 and 1968 were studied. Histologic sections of each tumor were reviewed. Of 330 patients with an original diagnosis of fibrosarcoma, 18 were excluded because of insufficient histologic material, and 113 were excluded because of revised diagnoses. The tumors from the remaining 199 patients were graded according to microscopic criteria. The 4 grades were correlated with information obtained at followup, and survival data were analyzed. A striking relationship of survival with grade was demonstrated. Patients selected for radical surgical treatment achieved improved survival for every category studied; however, there was no significant difference in survival for patients treated with wide excision as compared with those treated by amputation. Based on the more recent data from patients with primary fibrosarcoma, the probability of surviving 5 years is 60%.