Fibrosarcoma in infants and children.A review of 110 cases

Abstract

This retrospective study summarizes the clinicopathologic findings in 110 children with fibrosarcoma. Seventy cases were selected from previous reports and 40 were from our files. The histologic criteria used for diagnosis are the same as those used for adults. Sixty-eight patients were in the first quinquennium of life, 13 in the second, and 29 in the third. Eleven patients died of their tumor, three in the first quinquennium and eight in the third. Our findings indicate that children who are less than 5 years old have a 7.3% chance of developing metastatic spread even though the local recurrence rate is 43%. Children who are 10 years old or older had a metastatic rate of 50% at 5-year follow-up, a figure closely approximating that for adults. We believe that infants and children less than 5 years old may be treated initially by local excision of the lesion, without sacrificing significant function of the part. Recurrent tumor does not seem to predispose to metastatic disease.