Early lymphatic spread of osteogenic and soft-tissue sarcomas.

Records of 374 patients referred to the National Cancer Institute with a diagnosis of sarcoma over a 24-year period were reviewed to study the incidence of lymph node involvement in this disease. One hundred and thirteen patients had operations involving the draining nodal area and evaluation of these nodes for tumor. Only three patients (2.6%) had evidence of sarcoma metastatic to draining lymph nodes. Prophylactic removal or radiotherapy of draining lymph node areas in most adults with sarcomas does not appear to be worthwhile. A comprehensive analysis of the literature is presented.