%A Imanishi,Jungo %A Chan,Lester W. M. %A Broadhead,Matthew L. %A Pang,Grant %A Ngan,Samuel Y. %A Slavin,John %A Sharp,Stephen %A Choong,Peter F. M. %D 2019 %J Frontiers in Surgery %C %F %G English %K Soft Tissue Sarcoma,Geriatric patients,Inferior prognosis,Surgery,Local recurrence,metastasis,Tumor biology,Metastasectomy %Q %R 10.3389/fsurg.2019.00029 %W %L %M %P %7 %8 2019-May-31 %9 Original Research %# %! Soft tissue sarcomas in patients aged ≥80 years %* %< %T Clinical Features of High-Grade Extremity and Trunk Sarcomas in Patients Aged 80 Years and Older: Why Are Outcomes Inferior? %U https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsurg.2019.00029 %V 6 %0 JOURNAL ARTICLE %@ 2296-875X %X Background: The population of many countries is aging and a significant number of elderly patients with soft-tissue sarcoma are being seen at cancer centers. The unique therapeutic and prognostic implications of treating soft-tissue sarcoma in geriatric patients warrant further consideration in order to optimize outcomes.Patients and Methods: This is a single-institution retrospective study of consecutive non-metastatic primary extremity and trunk high-grade sarcomas surgically treated between 1996 and 2012, with at least 2 years of follow-up for survivors. Patient characteristics and oncological outcomes were compared between age groups (≥80 vs. <80 years), using Chi-square or Fisher-exact test and Log-Rank or Wilcoxon test, respectively. Deaths from other causes were censored for disease-specific survival estimation. A p< 0.05 was regarded as statistically significant.Results: A total of 333 cases were eligible for this study. Thirty-six patients (11%) were aged ≥80 years. Unplanned surgery incidence and surgical margin status were comparable between the age groups. Five-year local-recurrence-free, metastasis-free and disease-specific survivals were 72% (≥80 years) vs. 90% (<80 years) (p = 0.004), 59 vs. 70% (p = 0.07) and 55 vs. 80% (p < 0.001), respectively. A significantly earlier first metastasis after surgery (8.3 months vs. 20.5 months, mean) and poorer survival after first metastasis (p = 0.03) were observed. Cox analysis revealed “age ≥80 years” as an independent risk factor for local failure and disease-specific mortality, with hazard ratios of 2.41 (95% CI: 1.09–5.32) and 2.52 (1.33–4.13), respectively. A competing risks analysis also showed that “age ≥80 years” was significantly associated with the disease-specific mortality.Conclusions: Oncological outcomes were significantly worse in high-grade sarcoma patients aged ≥80 years. The findings of more frequent local failure regardless of a consistent primary treatment strategy, an earlier time to first metastasis after surgery, and poorer prognosis after first metastasis suggest that more aggressive tumor biology, in addition to multiple co-morbidity, may explain the inferiority.