Intraoperative Brachytherapy Combined With Adjuvant Radiotherapy Shows Equal Results in the Treatment of Leiomyosarcoma on the Extremities Compared to Adjuvant Radiotherapy Only - A Multicentric Retrospective Analysis

BACKGROUND/AIM: Leiomyosarcomas account for 2-10% of all extremity soft tissue sarcomas. The role of intraoperative brachytherapy as an additive booster therapy is not clearly defined. This study focused on the additive value of brachytherapy in the treatment of leiomyosarcomas on the extremities.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective multicenter study compared treatment outcomes of 94 patients diagnosed with a primary leiomyosarcoma in their extremities. Patients were divided into three groups according to their radiotherapy protocol: a) adjuvant radiotherapy (aRT), b) neoadjuvant radiotherapy (nRT) and c) intraoperative brachytherapy combined with adjuvant radiotherapy (IOBTaRT). These three treatment groups were compared for local control, time to metastasis, and overall survival.

RESULTS: Eleven patients were treated with IOBTaRT, 35 patients with aRT, and seven patients with nRT only. The survival time was 157.6 months for patients in the IORTaRT group, and 111.3 months for patients treated with aRT only. The time to local recurrence was 141.5 months for patients treated with IOBTaRT and 106.1 months for patients treated with aRT. The estimated time to metastasis was 34.6 months for patients in the IOBTaRT group and 69.7 months for patients treated with aRT alone. No significant differences were observed between these treatment groups concerning overall survival, local recurrence, or metastasis.

CONCLUSION: Additive brachytherapy did not provide a significant advantage in the treatment of leiomyosarcomas. However, this study was limited by the number of patients per group.