Improved survival for sarcomas of the wrist and hand

PURPOSE: To evaluate survival characteristics of malignant hand tumors compared with those occurring in other musculoskeletal locations over a 30-year period. METHODS: Patients were identified through a computerized database maintained at the authors' institution over the past 30 years. Each patient's records were reviewed retrospectively. Diagnoses were categorized and survival data for patients with hand malignancies were compared with those of patients having similar tumors in other musculoskeletal sites by using multivariate statistical analysis. RESULTS: The most common malignancies were epitheloid sarcoma, synovial sarcoma, and malignant fibrous histiocytoma. Improved survival during the follow-up period was found for hand malignancies versus those occurring in other musculoskeletal sites as a whole, and this difference was statistically significant. No significant survival benefit was identified for individual tumors. CONCLUSIONS: Patients presenting with primary malignancies of the hand may survive longer than those with similar tumors in other musculoskeletal locations TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prognostic, Level II.