Clinic and treatment of gastric sarcomas

Most of the works on gastric sarcomas are devoted to the description of isolated cases. Material 3. I. Kartashev (1938), including a description of 13 cases of primary and one secondary sarcomatous lesions of the stomach, is the largest in the domestic literature. Later (1956) Z. I. Besfamilnaya and T. A. Seledevkina reported 9 cases of primary sarcoma of the stomach, collected over 23 years. S. S. Avedisov and I. A. Margani (1958) observed primary reticulosarcoma for 270 operations for stomach cancer in three cases.

Sarcomatous Meningioma: Diagnostic Pitfalls and the Utility of Molecular Testing

Anaplastic meningiomas can have a sarcomatous appearance on histology but true sarcomatous (metaplastic) differentiation is rare. These tumors follow an aggressive clinical course with recurrence and poor clinical outcomes. Due to significant overlap in morphology and immunohistochemical profiles, distinguishing between sarcomatous transformation of a meningioma and a true sarcoma can be challenging. Here, we outline potential diagnostic pitfalls and the utility of ancillary molecular testing in 3 patients diagnosed with sarcomatous meningiomas. We report loss of typical meningothelial markers in sarcomatous meningiomas. Ancillary molecular testing can support the diagnosis of sarcomatous meningioma when a molecular signature consistent with meningioma is seen, such as inactivation of the NF2 gene. Recognition of this rare transformation in meningioma can prevent a misdiagnosis of a primary sarcoma, whether sporadic or radiation-induced from prior treatment of a more classic meningioma.

Unraveling the Heterogeneity of Sarcoma Survivors’ Health-Related Quality of Life Regarding Primary Sarcoma Location: Results from the SURVSARC Study

Sarcoma patients experience physical and psychological symptoms, depending on age of onset, subtype, treatment, stage, and location of the sarcoma, which can adversely affect patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study aimed to unravel the heterogeneity of sarcoma survivors’ HRQoL regarding primary sarcoma location. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Dutch sarcoma survivors (N = 1099) aged ≥18, diagnosed 2–10 years ago. Primary sarcoma locations were head and neck, chest, abdominal including retroperitoneal, pelvis including urogenital organs, axial skeleton, extremities (upper and lower), breast, skin and other locations. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer—Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ)-C30 was used to measure HRQoL accompanied by treatment-specific HRQoL questions. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were collected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Axial skeleton sarcomas had the lowest functioning levels and highest symptoms compared to other locations. Skin sarcomas had the highest functioning levels and lowest symptoms on most scales. Bone sarcomas scored worse on several HRQoL domains compared to soft tissue sarcomas. High prevalence of treatment-specific HRQoL issues were found per location. In conclusion, sarcomas can present everywhere, which is reflected by different HRQoL outcomes according to primary sarcoma location. The currently used HRQoL measure lacks treatment-specific questions and is too generic to capture all sarcoma-related issues, emphasizing the necessity for a comprehensive sarcoma-specific HRQoL measurement strategy.

Primary Sarcoma of Descending Aorta

Primitive aortic sarcomas are rare tumors characterized by resistance to medical treatment and a poor prognosis with high metastatic rates and local recurrences. Surgery remains the mainstay treatment and is based on challenging and technically demanding resections with high rate of major intraoperative and postoperative complications. We report the case of a patient with primitive intimal sarcoma of the aorta, who underwent a descending aortic resection and reconstruction with a prosthetic tube.