'Beware the lump in the foot!': Predictors of recurrence and survival in bone and soft-tissue sarcomas of the foot and ankle

Abstract

Background: Although benign lumps around the foot and ankle are common, sarcomas in this area are frequently missed, and the consequences can be disastrous. Patients are often referred to tumour centres after suboptimal prior surgical excision. The predictors of local recurrence, metastasis and survival in this cohort have yet to be elucidated. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of 61 consecutive patients that were surgically treated for a bone (BS) or soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) of the foot and ankle between 1996 and 2012 at a specialist tumour centre. Factors such as tumour versus non-tumour centre surgery and BS versus STS were examined. Univariate and multivariate analyses were p..