Abstract
The relationship between the adolescent and young adult age groups and poor overall survival in soft tissue sarcoma and the risk factors for poor outcomes in adolescent and young adult patients with soft tissue sarcoma were analyzed. The medical records of 7759 Japanese patients diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma from 2006-13 were accessed from the Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor registry. The epidemiological features of adolescent and young adult patients were compared with those of other age groups. The cancer survival rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The prognostic factors for cancer survival were analyzed with the Cox proportional hazards models. The primary endpoint for prognosis was tumor-related death. There were 210 children, 1467 adolescent and young adults, 2771 adults and 3311 elderly among the 7759 patients identified with soft tissue sarcoma. Compared with other age groups, the proportions of myxoid/round cell liposarcoma, synovial sarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, primitive neuroectodermal tumor and rhabdomyosarcoma in adolescent and young adult patients were the highest, but none was significantly more prevalent in adolescent and young adult patients. On multivariate analysis, age was not a prognostic factor for poor cancer survival among adolescent and young adult patients with soft tissue sarcoma. The cancer survival rates of adolescent and young adult patients with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor were poorer than those of the other age groups; however, adolescent and young adult age was not a prognostic factor on multivariate analysis in malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor patients. Our study is the first to investigate soft tissue sarcoma in adolescent and young adult patients using the nationwide Bone and Soft Tissue Tumor registry. Adolescent and young adult age is not a prognostic factor for poor cancer survival among those with soft tissue sarcoma in Japan.
Highlights
Compared to young children or older adults, the prognoses of adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with cancer, i.e., those aged from 15 to 39 years, have not improved
We focused on soft tissue sarcoma (STS) in aged 15–39 years (AYAs) patients and aimed to determine whether there is a correlation between the AYA age group and overall poor cancer survival in STS
Our findings demonstrate that AYA age is not a prognostic factor for poor cancer survival among those with STS in Japan
Summary
Compared to young children or older adults, the prognoses of adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with cancer, i.e., those aged from 15 to 39 years, have not improved. We focused on soft tissue sarcoma (STS) in AYA patients and aimed to determine whether there is a correlation between the AYA age group and overall poor cancer survival in STS. We further aimed to determine which histologic subtypes are more common in AYA patients and investigate the cause of poor outcomes in this group
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