Retroperitoneal Sarcoma - A Clinico-Pathological Study

Retroperitoneal sarcomas are rare tumours that comprise approximately 15% of all soft tissue sarcomas in adults 1 . Most of the retroperitoneal tumours are malignant and approximately one third is soft tissue sarcoma. Although significant advances in our understanding of extremity soft tissue sarcoma have resulted in improved treatments and outcomes, similar progress has not been achieved in our understanding and treatment of retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcomas. Here we present a retrospective analysis of 30 cases of retroperitoneal sarcoma from a tertiary care centre from 2006 to 2010. The incidence of retroperitoneal sarcoma in our study was around 0.10% of the total surgical admissions. Peak incidence was seen between 50-60 years and >85% patients were above 40 years. There was a definite male preponderance, with a male to female ratio of 2.75: 1. The most useful and economical investigative modality is contrast enhanced CT scan of the abdomen Most of the patients present at a later stage of the disease with adjacent organ involvement and distant metastasis. These factors contribute to the bad prognostic nature of the disease. Potentially curative resection in the form of en-bloc resection/ complete excision was possible only in 50% of cases. The role of adjuvant treatment in retroperitoneal sarcoma still remains unsettled. The most common histopathological type of retroperitoneal sarcoma was liposarcoma. Majority of patients developed local recurrence and distant metastasis within a short period, especially in margin compromising resections. Margin negative resections are associated with good prognosis.