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Look deeper into the challenges of dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS).

Look deeper into the challenges of dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS)

DDLPS is often associated with delayed diagnosis and poor prognosis1,2

  • Difficult location: DDLPS is frequently seen in the retroperitoneum (dedifferentiated retroperitoneal liposarcoma). Other locations include the extremities, head or neck, pelvis, and trunk2,3

  • Patients may be asymptomatic: Typically, DDLPS presents as painless masses that grow gradually in size, resulting in delayed diagnosis1,4

  • Rarity of condition: Due to the rarity of soft tissue sarcoma, patients are often misdiagnosed. In many cases, even when sarcoma is suspected, patients are referred to the wrong centre for treatment. As a result, the route to diagnosis for patients with DDLPS remains complex5,6

With no new treatments in nearly 5 decades, there are limited options for people diagnosed with DDLPS7,8

Surgery is the primary treatment for early-stage 
DDLPS7

Following recurrence after initial surgery, 30% of patients may undergo a second surgery if recurrence is not multifocal.9

The benefits of a second surgery after recurrence are limited, and in the majority of patients, repeat surgery is often accompanied by complications.9

There are limited systemic therapies for patients with advanced or metastatic disease7,8

Although DDLPS is often chemotherapy-insensitive, chemotherapy is the only systemic option available for patients.7,8

Anthracycline-based chemotherapy is the standard of care.7,8

DDLPS response rate to treatment
DDLPS Median Overall Survival
DDLPS progression-free survival rate (mPFS)

*Results from anthracycline-based chemotherapy.8

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DDLPS is an aggressive liposarcoma subtype and there are limited systemic therapies for patients with advanced or metastatic disease1,7,8

Does late presentation impact the prognosis of DDLPS? Go to the next page to learn about the challenges of diagnosing
this rare sarcoma.

References:

  1. Gahvari Z, Parkes A. Curr Treat Options Oncol. 2020;21(2):15. doi:10.1007/s11864-020-0705-7

  2. Nguyen K, Gootee J, Aurit S, Albagoush S, Curtin C, Silberstein P. Surg Case Rep. 2021;4(2):7-7. doi:10.31487/j.SCR.2021.02.02

  3. Sciot R. Diagnostics. 2021;11(3):496. doi:10.3390/diagnostics11030496

  4. Chen J, Hang Y, Gao Q, Huang X. Front Surg. 2021;8:672669. doi:10.3389/fsurg.2021.672669

  5. Soomers VLMN, van der Graaf WTA, Zaidi S, et al. PLoS One. 2020;15(12):e0243439. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0243439

  6. Sarcoma UK. The loneliest cancer. Accessed 6 March 2024. https://sarcoma.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/The-loneliest-cancer_Sarcoma-UK-Dec-2019.pdf

  7. McGovern Y, Zhou CD, Jones RL. Front Oncol. 2017;7:292. doi:10.3389/fonc.2017.00292

  8. Italiano A. Cancer Discov. 2023;13(8):1765-1767.

  9. Gronchi A, Miceli R, Allard MA, et al. Ann Surg Oncol. 2015;22(5):1447-1454.

  10. Judson I, Radford JA, Harris M, et al. Eur J Cancer. 2001;37(7):870-877.

  11. Judson I, Verweij J, Gelderblom H, et al. Lancet Oncol. 2014;15(4):415-423.