Primary cardiac sarcomas: A multi-national retrospective review

Tom Wei Wu Chen, Herbert H. Loong, Amirrtha Srikanthan, Alona Zer, Reeta Barua, Jagdish Butany, Robert J. Cusimano, Yun Chieh Liang, Chin Hao Chang, Zaza Iakobishvili, Albiruni R.Abdul Razak*, Jeremy Lewin

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Background: Primary cardiac sarcoma (PCS) is a rare but often fatal disease. The current study aimed to analyze the impact of baseline demographics, local and systemic therapies in a contemporary cohort. Methods: Clinical records of PCS across six institutions in three continents were reviewed. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate survival. Cox proportional hazard model was used to determine variables impacting progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS). Results: Sixty-one patients with PCS (1996-2016) were identified. The median age at diagnosis was 46 (range 18-79); 36% (n = 22) presented with metastatic disease. The most common histology was angiosarcoma (n = 24, 39%). A total of 46 patients received surgery (75%) but only 5 (8%) patients achieved R0 resection. Multi-modality treatment to the primary tumor was given to 28 patients (46%; localized disease 23/39 (59%); metastatic disease 5/22 (23%)). The median OS for the entire cohort was 17.5 months (95% CI 9.5-20.6), with seven (11%) patients surviving longer than 36 months. On multi-variate analysis, age <65 (P = 0.01) was the only significant favorable prognostic factor. For first-line palliative chemotherapy, the median PFS was 4.4 months (95% CI 2.9-7.7 months). The best response for first-line chemotherapy was 32% (CR = 1, PR = 9). No significant improvement in OS was identified in patients presenting throughout the 20-year period of this review. Conclusion: Younger age at diagnosis was associated with improved outcome although the prognosis of PCS remains poor. Given the lack of improvement in survival, further dedicated research is required.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)104-110
Number of pages7
JournalCancer Medicine
Volume8
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2019

Keywords

  • primary cardiac sarcoma
  • radiotherapy
  • sarcoma chemotherapy
  • surgery

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