Management of retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcomas (RP STS) can be very challenging. In contrast to the more common extremity STS, the two predominant histologic subtypes encountered in the retroperitoneum are well-differentiated/dedifferentiated liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma. Surgery remains the mainstay of treatment for RP STS. Preoperative planning and anticipation of the need for resection of adjacent organs/structures are critical. The extent of surgery, including the role of compartmental resection, is still controversial. Radiation therapy may be an important adjunct to surgery to provide locoregional disease control; this is currently being evaluated in the preoperative setting in the EORTC STRASS trial. Systemic therapy, tailored to the specific histologic subtype, may also be of benefit for the management of RP STS. Further investigation of novel therapies (e.g., targeted therapies, immunotherapy) is needed. Overall, multi-institutional collaboration is important moving forward, to continue to better understand and optimize management of this disease.
Background
This study assessed whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could accurately predict pathologic complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for patients receiving standardized treatment, pre‐ and post‐NAC MRI on the same instrumentation using a consistent imaging protocol, interpreted by a single breast fellowship‐trained radiologist.
Methods
A single‐institution retrospective analysis was performed including clinical, radiographic, and pathologic parameters for all patients with breast cancer treated with NAC from 2015 to 2018. Radiographic complete response (rCR) was defined as absence of suspicious MRI findings in the ipsilateral breast or lymph nodes. pCR was defined as the absence of invasive cancer or ductal carcinoma in‐situ in breast or lymph nodes after operation (ypT0N0M0).
Results
Data for 102 consecutive patients demonstrated that 44 (43.1%) had rCR and 41 (40.1%) had pCR. pCR occurred in 12 (25.0%) of 48 estrogen receptor positive (ER+) patients, 29 (53.7%) of 54 ER− patients, and 25 (52.1%) of 48 human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive patients. The positive predictive value for MRI after NAC was 84.5% and the negative predictive value was 72.7%. The accuracy rate for MRI was 78.6%. Of the 44 patients with rCR, 12 (27.3%) had residual cancer on the pathologic specimen after surgical excision.
Conclusion
rCR is not accurate enough to serve as a surrogate marker for pCR on MRI after NAC.
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