Outcome of treatment for pediatric sarcoma of the foot: a retrospective review over a 20-year period

Abstract

Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) arising in the foot are rare in children. From 1975 to 1994, 18 children (median age, 13.5 years) were treated at St Jude Children's Research Hospital for STS of the foot. Five children had rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS), with alveolar histology in four cases. All of these patients presented with metastatic disease, which proved fatal within 9 to 24 months despite combined modality treatment with chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. Thirteen patients had nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma (NRSTS). The most common histological variant was synovial sarcoma (7 patients). Of the 10 who presented with localized disease, seven survived 1 to 12 years (median, 7 years). Surgical treatment for these consisted of local excision (n = 2), wide local excision (n = 3), below knee amputation (n = 1 ), ray amputation (n = 1). Three received supplemental radiation, and one was also treated with chemotherapy. Local or distant recurrence proved fatal in the three other children who had localized disease. Three children who presented with metastatic NRSTS died 8 to 14 months after diagnosis. All surviving patients are without significant functional disability. In our experience, pediatric RMS of the foot has a poor outcome, attributable to both alveolar histology and presence of metastatic disease at diagnosis. In contrast, NRSTS of the foot is more often localized, and limited surgery with adjuvant radiation in the absence of clear margins should be the treatment of choice.