Incidence of Sarcoma Histotypes and Molecular Subtypes in a Prospective Epidemiological Study with Central Pathology Review and Molecular Testing
2011

Incidence of Sarcoma Histotypes and Molecular Subtypes in a European Region

Sample size: 748 publication 10 minutes Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Ducimetière Françoise, Lurkin Antoine, Ranchère-Vince Dominique, Decouvelaere Anne-Valérie, Péoc'h Michel, Istier Luc, Chalabreysse Philippe, Muller Christine, Alberti Laurent, Bringuier Pierre-Paul, Scoazec Jean-Yves, Schott Anne-Marie, Bergeron Christophe, Cellier Dominic, Blay Jean-Yves, Ray-Coquard Isabelle

Primary Institution: Université de Lyon, Cancer Centre Leon Berard, Lyon, France

Hypothesis

The study aims to determine the overall incidence of sarcoma and its subtypes in the Rhone-Alpes region of France.

Conclusion

The observed incidence of sarcomas was higher than expected, indicating a need for better understanding and classification of these tumors.

Supporting Evidence

  • The study included 748 patients diagnosed with sarcoma over a two-year period.
  • Incidence rates for soft tissue, visceral, and bone sarcomas were found to be 3.6, 2.0, and 0.6 per 100,000 respectively.
  • The most frequent histological subtypes were gastrointestinal stromal tumor, unclassified sarcoma, liposarcoma, and leiomyosarcoma.
  • 98% of the diagnoses were confirmed by expert pathologists.
  • The overall crude incidence rate was 6.2 per 100,000/year.

Takeaway

This study looked at how often different types of sarcomas happen in a specific area, finding more cases than expected.

Methodology

Pathology reports and tumor blocks were collected from 158 pathologists over two years, with cases centrally reviewed and classified.

Potential Biases

Potential bias due to the reliance on pathology reports and the possibility of misclassification of sarcomas.

Limitations

The study may have missed some cases due to misdiagnosis or lack of available tumor tissue for analysis.

Participant Demographics

The median age of participants was 60 years, with a sex ratio of 1.1 male to female.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pone.0020294

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