Epithelioid sarcoma. An analysis of fifty-one cases.

Analysis of the cases of fifty-one consecutive patients who had an epithelioid sarcoma revealed the five-year rate of survival to be approximately 70 per cent and the ten-year rate, approximately 50 per cent. The five-year rate of survival was about 40 per cent for the male patients and about 80 per cent for the female patients. If the primary tumor was more than three centimeters in diameter or was deeply situated, the patients had a reduced life-span, as did the patients in whom the tumor was focally necrotic. More male than female patients had necrosis of the tumor, as seen on the pathological specimens. No significant difference in life-span was noted among the patients in whom the resection had a marginal, wide, or radical surgical margin. The data indicate that wide or radical resection should be done as soon as epithelioid sarcoma is diagnosed.