Prognostication of Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Abstract

BACKGROUNDSoft tissue sarcomas (STS) account for less than 1% of all malignant tumours but present a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge since there are more than 50 histological subtypes. 1 The clinical course of a sarcoma cannot be predicted by histologic typing alone but must be accompanied by grading and staging. Sarcomas with high metastatic potential can be picked out by histologic grading which is a cheap and simple method. One widely used and most reproducible grading system is French Federation Nationale des Centres de Lutte Contre le Cancer (FNCLCC) based on a score obtained by evaluating tumour differentiation, mitotic rate and amount of tumour necrosis.2 Histologic grading is the mainstay in predicting prognosis of STS especially in centres where facilities for more sophisticated methods are not available. Hence this study was undertaken to assess the effectiveness of the FNCLCC grading system in the prognostication of STS in our patient population. Aims and Objectives 1. To grade soft tissue sarcomas according to the FNCLCC system. 2. To study the association between grade and survival of soft tissue sarcomas in the patient population.