Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40119312›Full record

ArticleBMC cancer2025

Clinical course and prognostic factors of patients with dedifferentiated liposarcoma: a retrospective analysis.

Jelena Casier, Iris Timmermans, Annouschka Laenen, Daphne Hompes, Thomas Douchy, Raf Sciot, Melissa Christiaens, Hazem Wafa, Patrick Schöffski

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Article in BMC cancer, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Liposarcoma: State of the Art-A Scoping Review.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Jelena Casier *Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. jelenacasier@hotmail.com.
Iris TimmermansDepartment of Medical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Annouschka LaenenDepartment of Biostatistics, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Daphne HompesDepartment of Oncologic Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Thomas DouchyDepartment of Oncologic Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Raf SciotDepartment of Pathology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Melissa ChristiaensDepartment of Radiotherapy, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Hazem WafaDepartment of Orthopedic Surgical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Patrick Schöffski *Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionDedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS) is a fairly common subtype of soft tissue sarcoma, but relatively little is known about the clinical course and prognostic factors of this mesenchymal malignancy.

methodsWe performed a retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with DDLPS at the University Hospital Leuven, Belgium between 1991 and 2022 based on an established clinical database and patient records.

resultsWe identified 259 patients with DDLPS, with the retroperitoneum as most common location of the primary tumor (47.5%). 204/259 patients (78.8%) patients had primary surgery. Radiotherapy was administered in the pre- (46/259, 17.8%) or postoperative setting (51/259, 19.7%). At diagnosis 28/259 (10.8%) patients presented with locally inoperable disease and 26/259 (10.0%) with synchronous metastasis. In patients who had primary surgery, local relapses were seen in 114/259 (44.0%) patients and 80/259 (30.9%) patients developed metachronous metastasis. A total of 48/259 (18.5%) patients developed both local relapse and metastasis. Patients with inoperable or metastatic disease were often treated with systemic therapy. The most common first-line systemic therapies were doxorubicin (51/98, 52.0%), doxorubicin combined with ifosfamide (12/98, 12.2%) and different types of experimental treatments (18/98, 18.4%). The median overall survival from first diagnosis of DDLPS to death of all causes was 70.5 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 56.6-98.6) for all patients, 10.9 months (95% CI 3.6-29.2) in patients with inoperable disease, 28.4 months (95% CI 1.3-199.3) for patients with local relapse and only 9.4 months (95% CI 1.2-25.9) for patients with metastatic disease. We identified lower age, primary surgery, absence of synchronous metastasis, absence of local relapse and treatment with experimental therapy as statistically significant favorable prognostic factors.

conclusionsDDLPS is a subtype of soft tissue sarcoma with an aggressive clinical course and very poor prognosis, especially in patients with inoperable or metastatic disease. The results with classic chemotherapy are poor, and experimental treatments may be a preferred choice for individual patients. Data from this retrospective series can inform the design of future prospective and ongoing trials in this setting.

Indexed as

LiposarcomaAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeoplasm Recurrence, LocalPrognosisRetrospective StudiesYoung AdultDedifferentiated liposarcomaPrognostic factorsTreatment modalities

Identifiers

PMID40119312
PMCPMC11927263

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