The Lymph-Sparing Quotient: A Retrospective Risk Analysis on Extremity Radiation for Soft Tissue Sarcoma Treatment

Simple Summary Soft tissue sarcomas, a heterogenous group of tumors with a mesenchymal origin, are mostly located in the extremities and are commonly treated with surgery and radiotherapy. Using opportunities of reducing long-term therapy-related side effects in soft tissue sarcoma treatment is an important task for all physicians involved in soft tissue sarcoma treatment. The extent of lymph-sparing volume in adjuvant radiation therapy of extremity soft tissue sarcoma as a risk factor for lymphedema was analyzed in this study. Patients with a low lymph-sparing volume showed an increased risk of lymphedema in this retrospective study. Maximizing the potential oncologically justifiable lymph-sparing volume should be considered to reduce the risk of high-grade lymphedema when applying RT to extremities. Radiation therapy (RT) for extremity soft tissue sarcoma is associated with lymphedema risk. In this study, we analyzed the influence of lymph-sparing volume on the lymphedema occurrence in patients who received adjuvant extremity RT. The lymph-sparing quotient (LSQ) was calculated by dividing the lymph-sparing volume by the total extremity volume with double weightingfor the narrowest lymph-sparing region. A total of 34 patients were enrolled in this analysis. The median applied total radiation dose was 66.3 Gy in 36 fractions. Acute lymphedema appeared in 12 patients (35%). Most of them (n = 8) were lymphedema grade 1 and five patients had grade 2 to 3 lymphedema. Chronic lymphedema appeared in 22 patients (65%). 17 of these patients had at least a grade 2 lymphedema. In 13 of 14 patients with an LSQ <= 0.2 and 11 of 20 patients with an LSQ > 0.2, an acute or chronic lymphedema >= grade 2 was observed. A Kaplan-Meier Analysis of the two groups with the endpoint of a two-year lymph edema-free survival (=2-YLEFS) was estimated with an univariate, significant result (2-YLEFS LSQ <= 0.2 vs. LSQ > 0.2: 0% vs. 39%; p = 0.006; hazard ratio LSQ <= 0.2 vs. > 0.2 2-YLEFS 2.822 (p = 0.013); 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.24-6.42). Maximizing the potential oncologically-justifiable lymph-sparing volume should be considered to reduce the risk of high-grade lymphedema when applying RT to extremities.

Automated summary

Soft tissue sarcomas, originating from mesenchymal tissue in the extremities, are commonly treated with surgery and radiotherapy. This study found that patients with lower lymph-sparing volume in adjuvant radiation therapy for extremity soft tissue sarcoma have an increased risk of lymphedema. Maximizing the potential oncologically-justifiable lymph-sparing volume should be considered to reduce the risk of high-grade lymphedema in extremity radiation therapy.