Surgical treatment of pulmonary metastases from soft tissue sarcomas: A retrospective study in the Netherlands

Sixty‐seven of 87 patients with soft tissue sarcoma underwent complete resection of the metastases in the lung. In this retrospective study, follow‐up was for a median of 24 months. The 5‐year overall, crude, and disease‐free survival was 38%, 45%, and 41%, respectively. Twentyseven (40%) patients developed a recurrence in the lung. Of the six prognostic variables, the only factor significantly related to disease‐free survival was grade. It is concluded that surgery for lung metastases of soft tissue sarcoma should be considered as standard therapy when preoperative evaluation predicts a complete resection. By adding chemotherapy to surgery, an improvement of prognosis probably can be achieved. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. Copyright © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company