Retrospective cohort study of chemotherapy with or without anlotinib for synovial sarcoma with lung metastasis

Synovial sarcoma (SS) is an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma frequently associated with lung metastases. Anthracycline plus ifosfamide (AI) chemotherapy is a standard first-line regimen for SS, but its benefit in SS patients with lung metastases is unknown. A retrospective cohort study at Fudan University Shanghai Center (China) included 108 SS patients with lung metastases treated between 2007 and 2024, receiving either AI alone (n=59) or AI plus the multitarget TKI anlotinib (n=49). The median progression-free survival was 8.1 months in the AI plus anlotinib group versus 6.2 months in the AI group (p=0.0250) and the median overall survival was 14.8 months versus 6.8 months (p=0.0033), respectively. Most adverse events were grades 1 or 2, with manageable toxicity profiles. The authors conclude that these findings suggest that this combination therapy could be considered as a viable first-line treatment option for SS with lung metastases