Results of isolated regional perfusion in the treatment of malignant soft tissue tumors of the extremities.

High-grade soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities continue to pose problems of local disease control and deaths from distant metastases. Between 1969 and 1976, eight patients with primary and six with recurrent high-grade soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities were treated by isolated regional perfusion with cytostatics and local excision. None received systemic adjuvant chemotherapy or external-beam radiotherapy. During the follow-up (median, 13 years) five patients (36%) developed distant metastases. One was cured after resection of a pulmonary metastasis. In one other patient (7%) recurrent local disease was diagnosed after 48 months; he was cured after resection of the local lesion followed by postoperative external beam radiotherapy. The actuarial 5-year and 10-year survival was 69%. Treatment caused no cardiovascular complications and there was no postoperative mortality.