Time interval between surgery and start of adjuvant radiotherapy in patients with soft tissue sarcoma: A retrospective analysis of 1131 cases from the French Sarcoma Group

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the time interval (TI) between surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) in soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Methods and materials Data from 1131 patients treated between 1990 and 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. Inclusion criteria were: limb or superficial trunk wall STS (R0 or R1 resection) and adjuvant RT. The impact of TI on 10-year local relapse-free survival (LRFS) and 10-year overall survival (OS) was analyzed using a Log-rank test and then Cox Model. Results The median TI was 82days (range, 18–346). With a median follow-up of 235months (range, 2–296months), the 10-year LRFS was 57.5% (±2%) and the 10-year OS was 64.2% (±2%). With a TI of 19–39days, 40–79days, 80–119days, and ⩾120days, 10-year LRFSs were 65.3%, 55.5%, 56.9% and 61.2% ( p =0.465), and 10-year OSs were 72.8%, 60.7%, 66.4% and 62.1% ( p =0.347), respectively. After adjustment for the factors significantly ( p ⩽0.05) associated with LRFS and OS, TI did not alter LRFS ( p =0.182) either OS ( p =0.335). Conclusions In this retrospective STS database study, the TI between surgery and start of adjuvant RT did not seem to affect outcomes.