Publication:

Clinicopathological study of soft tissue tumours in a tertiary care hospital in south India

Background Soft tissue tumours are more diverse and heterogenous group of rare tumours. Soft tissue Sarcomas comprise <1% of adult cancers which pose a great challenge in diagnosis and treatment. The aim of the study is to study and compare the incidence and to evaluate the type, sex predilection, anatomical location and size of all soft tissue tumours.

Methods A prospective study of all soft tissue tumours reported in department of Pathology, Thanjavur Medical College Hospital from July 2012 to June 2014 was done. Soft tissue tumours, irrespective of the age, sex, size of the tumor, anatomical location was included in the study. Data collected include age, gender, presenting symptoms, site and size of neoplasms. Histopathological evaluation with haematoxylin and eosin staining under Light microscopy was done to make pathological diagnosis.

Results A total of 331 soft tissue tumour specimens were analysed, out of which 289 were benign (87.3%), 29 malignant (8.8%) and 13 intermediate (3.9%). Soft tissue sarcomas accounted for 1.4% of total malignancies. Upper limb is the most common site for soft tissue neoplasm. Benign soft tissue tumours had their peak incidence between 30-50 years, while malignant soft tissue tumours were more common after 50 years of life. Lipoma is the commonest benign soft tissue tumour and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour is the commonest malignant sarcoma.

Conclusions Soft tissue neoplasms are tumours that have a spectrum of histological types. The histopathological features of these neoplasms help in deciding the treatment modality.