Impact of resection margins on local recurrence in patients with myxofibrosarcoma

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of resection margins on rates of local control in patients with myxofibrosarcoma (MFS). We performed a retrospective cohort study of 135 patients with myxofibrosarcoma, treated at the Department of Orthopaedics of the Medical University of Vienna in Austria from December 1999 to October 2023. Resection margins were analysed with Enneking's established classification scheme as well as Union internationale contre le cancer (UICC) classification. Local recurrence (LR) was reported for 14 patients (10.37%). There was no statistically significance for the influence of width of resection margins (neither UICC classification system, nor Enneking's) on the LR rate, except for R1-dir status in the UICC-classification (p = 0.028), meaning there was microscopic tumour contamination of margins or resection alongside and macroscopic residual tumour in R2a status (p = 0.037). There was no statistical difference of resection with wide or marginal resection margins. We can carefully suppose that width of resection margins do not seem to be crucial for local recurrence in MFS, although there is a significant risk for local recurrence in R1 resections. Further investigations on the risk factors for local recurrence are needed.