Abstract
Sarcomas are rare tumors, mainly stemming from the embryonic mesoderm, with a high grade of morbidity and mortality. ObjectiveTo carry out a retrospective study of head and neck sarcoma cases between 1999 and 2008 in three specialized centers in the city of Fortaleza. Materials and MethodsData collection was based on the charts of the patients in the study. For statistical analysis purposes we used the chi-square associations and the z test for proportions. ResultsWe found records of 36 patients, and the most affected ones were adult brown males, in the age range between 20 and 59 years - mean age of 39.7. The man/woman ratio was 1.76:1. The most prevalent histological type was the rhabdomyosarcoma and their most common locations were the face and the neck. Most of the sample was made up of live patients without evidence of the disease in the last visit - 41.6% of the cases. The most common treatment modes were the combination of surgery + radiotherapy + chemotherapy and surgery + radiotherapy, with 27.8% of the cases each. ConclusionSarcomas have a great histological variability and may have numerous locations. Since these are rare and not well-known lesions, new epidemiological studies must be carried out in order to enhance our understanding of the disease.
Highlights
Sarcomas are a very heterogeneous group of rare tumors which stem mainly from the embryonic mesoderma[1], they may be characterized as tumors stemming mainly from bones, cartilage or soft tissue[2], such as fibrous, fat, muscular, synovial, vascular or neural tissue[3,4]
The most common treatment modes were the combination of surgery + radiotherapy + chemotherapy and surgery + radiotherapy, with 27.8% of the cases each
This paper aims at contributing to a better understanding of this disease, establishing the clinical-pathological profile of patients with head and neck sarcomas seen in three specialized centers
Summary
Sarcomas are a very heterogeneous group of rare tumors which stem mainly from the embryonic mesoderma[1], they may be characterized as tumors stemming mainly from bones, cartilage or soft tissue[2], such as fibrous, fat, muscular, synovial, vascular or neural tissue[3,4]. They have an incidence of 7,400 new cases and 4,200 deaths per year in the US alone[5,6], being an important group of tumors because of their high morbidity and mortality rates. Lajer et al.[8] reported from their study that oral sarcomas represented 27.7% of these head and neck tumors, and Penel et al.[9] reported a 10.7% frequency
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