Objectives: Soft tissue sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of tumors accounting for less than 1% of adult malignancies. In this study, we examined patients who received pazopanib for soft tissue sarcoma. Factors affecting mortality and overall survival in soft tissue sarcoma patients using pazopanib were investigated. Methods: This study is a retrospective single-center study. Results: Fifty-three patients (median age: 42 years) were included. The median duration of follow-up in our cohort was 34 months. Before pazopanib, 37 patients (69.8%) received first-line, 12 patients (22.6%) received second-line and 4 patients (7.5%) received third-line chemotherapy. The median duration of pazopanib therapy was 7 months (range, 1–82). Median progression-free survival (PFS) and median overall survival was 7 months (range, 1–83) and 12 months (range, 1–83), respectively. Patients who received radiotherapy for curative or palliative purposes had significantly longer PFS (p=0.040). Eight patients required dose reduction due to adverse effects. Grade 4 adverse effects occurred in only 2 patients. After pazopanib, 36 patients (67.9%) did not receive any treatment. On Cox regression analysis, not receiving any treatment after pazopanib was associated with 3.052-fold higher mortality. A 1-unit increase in PFS was associated with 1.15-fold lower risk of mortality. Conclusion: In this study, pazopanib was found to be an effective and safe drug for advanced soft tissue sarcoma. Patients who received palliative radiotherapy for curative or palliative purposes had significantly longer PFS. Receiving treatment after pazopanib and longer PFS was associated with reduced mortality. Keywords: Soft tissue sarcomas, pazopanib, targeted therapy, oncology
Corresponding Author: Metin Pehlivan