Scientists studied cases of leiomyosarcoma – which affect smooth muscle cells, found in the walls of hollow organs like the stomach, intestines, uterus and blood vessels – and found major differences in patient outcomes between tumour sites.
Leiomyosarcomas of the uterus, urinary tract and trunk had the poorest survival rates, compared with cancers of the limbs, head and neck, and male reproductive tract.
The findings indicate that tumour location could provide clinically meaningful information on disease risk for those with leiomyosarcoma, beyond cancer stage and grade, experts say.
Smooth muscle
Leiomyosarcoma is the most common type of soft tissue sarcoma – cancer that starts in tissues such as muscle, fat, and blood vessels – but has limited treatment options and poor outcomes for many patients.
It affects smooth muscle cells, also known as involuntary muscles, which cause organs to contract without conscious control. Although tumours can develop throughout the body, they are commonly grouped simply as uterine or non-uterine disease.
Survival differences
University of Edinburgh scientists studied 11,700 patients with the condition, providing the most comprehensive assessment to date of survival across leiomyosarcoma arising at different locations in the body.
They also found that black patients, those from lower-income households, and widowed individuals experienced significantly poorer outcomes, highlighting the important contribution of socioeconomic factors to survival differences.
Tumour location
The study also identified differences in the underlying biology of tumours in different locations. For example, uterine tumours were more likely to have a specific genetic mutation compared with those found elsewhere in the body.
Clinical trials of leiomyosarcoma are often performed without accounting for where the cancer arises in the body. The findings suggest it may be important to account for tumour location when analysing studies of new therapies, experts say.
Future treatments
The results also provide evidence that leiomyosarcoma tumours at different anatomical sites are biologically distinct and could support the development of more personalised approaches to treatment and management of the condition, they add.