Abstract
This study was performed to explore the relationship between tumor oxygenation and treatment outcome in human soft tissue sarcoma. Twenty-two patients with nonmetastatic, high-grade, soft tissue sarcomas underwent preoperative irradiation and hyperthermia and pretreatment measurement of tumor oxygenation. The 18-month actuarial disease-free survival was 70% for patients with tumor median oxygen pressure (pO2) values of >10 mm Hg but only 35% for those with median pO2 values of < 10 mm Hg (P = 0.01). There were eight treatment failures; the first site of recurrence was lung in all patients. Median pO2 was 7.5 mm Hg for metastasizing tumors versus 20 mm Hg for nonmetastasizing tumors (P = 0.03). Potential mechanisms and implications for clinical trial design are discussed.
This work was supported by NIH Grant CA42745.