The prognostic potential of circulating biomarkers for sarcoma patients with pleural dissemination

Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of rare and aggressive malignancies and have a propensity to metastasize to the thoracic cavity. While sarcoma lung metastasectomy is an established modality, only scarce information is available about potential prognostic factors for sarcoma patients with pleural dissemination. Accordingly, all consecutive sarcoma patients treated at our thoracic surgery department between 2010 and 2023 with pleural sarcomatosis and/or malignant pleural effusion were retrospectively analyzed. Preoperative circulating biomarker values were collected at the time of first pleural involvement. Overall survival was calculated from the first sarcoma diagnosis as well as from the first diagnosis of pleural dissemination. 98 patients (42 female) were included in the cohort with a median age of 54.6 years (range: 15.9-84.3 years) at the time of pleural involvement. 77 patients had soft tissue sarcoma, while 21 patients had primary sarcoma in the bone including 4 chondrosarcoma. Among the 19 different sarcoma types, synovial sarcoma (13%), liposarcoma (11%), undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (11%), Ewing (like) sarcoma (10%) and leiomyosarcoma (9%) were the most frequent. Pleural dissemination was mostly metachronous, while only 7 cases were synchronous. The median pleural dissemination-free interval was 17.1 months after sarcoma diagnosis. The median overall survival after pleural dissemination was 12 months. WBC values outside the normal range had no significant impact on overall survival. High LDH (>250 U/L) and CRP (>1 mg/dL) conferred significantly lower overall survival (8.6 months vs. 19.1 months (p < 0.0001) and 4.9 months vs. 29 months (p < 0.0001), respectively). Albumin alone showed no prognostic impact, however, the modified Glasgow prognostic score (0, 1, and 2) was a strong prognosticator (20.4 vs. 8.6 vs. 1.7 months (p < 0.0001). In a multivariable analysis, CRP remained a significant prognostic factor. In conclusion, routine circulating biomarkers carry prognostic information for sarcoma patients with pleural dissemination and should be considered for risk stratification and personalized therapeutic decisions.