Purpose: Primary soft tissue sarcoma (STS) is rare, with many tumors occurring in extremities. Local management is limb-sparing surgery and preoperative/postoperative radiation therapy (RT) for patients at high risk of local recurrence. We prospectively investigated late normal tissue toxicity and limb function observed after intensity modulated RT (IMRT) in extremity STS.
Methods and materials: Patients with extremity STS, age ≥16 years. Two treatment cohorts: IMRT 50 Gy in 25 × 2 Gy fractions (preoperative) or 60/66 Gy in 30/33 × 2 Gy fractions (postoperative). The primary endpoint was the rate of grade ≥2 late soft tissue fibrosis (subcutaneous tissue) at 24 months after IMRT (Radiation Therapy Oncology Group late radiation morbidity scoring).
Results: One hundred sixty-eight patients were registered between March 2016 and July 2017. Of those, 159 (95%) received IMRT (106, 67% preoperative RT; and 53, 33% postoperative RT) with a median follow-up of 35.2 months (IQR, 32.9-36.6); 62% men, median age 58 years. Of 111 patients assessable for the primary endpoint at 24 months, 12 (10.8%; 95% CI, 5.7%-18.1%) had grade ≥2 subcutaneous fibrosis. The overall rate at 24 months of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group late skin, bone, and joint toxicity was 7 of 112 (6.3%), 3 of 112 (2.7%), and 10 of 113 (8.8%), respectively, and for Stern's scale edema was 6 of 113 (5.3%). More wound complications were observed with preoperative than postoperative RT (29.2% vs 3.8%). Overall survival at 24 months was 84.6%, and the local recurrence event rate at 24 months was 10%.
Conclusions: The rate of grade ≥2 subcutaneous fibrosis at 24 months after IMRT was 10.8%, consistent with other recent trials of IMRT and lower than historically reported rates in patients treated with 3-dimensional conformal RT. This trial provides further evidence for the benefits of IMRT in this patient population.
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