” It’s a question of survival. Matthieu Lartot has announced that he will have to have his right leg amputated due to the recurrence of his aggressive knee cancer. In an interview with the Midi Olympique, he says that a “sarcoma three times larger than the first appeared” and that some previously irradiated cells have not completely disappeared.
Now, “the danger is that it spreads to other parts of the body.” If he sees this act as “a liberation”, he recalls that for him “the important thing is the fight for life; it’s not whether or not to keep my leg”.
The journalist had suffered from this cancer for the first time at the age of 16. The risk of recurrence was then between 1 and 5%. Synovial sarcoma is an aggressive soft tissue tumor that remains relatively rare. Contrary to what its name suggests, it does not develop in synovial tissue. “The tumor usually develops in the vicinity of tendons, bursae or joint capsules, and particularly in the lower limbs (preferential location in the knee [popliteal fossa]; represents the most frequent malignant tumor of the foot and ankle between 6 and 45 years old), “explains the University of Tours.
This sarcoma represents between 7 and 8% of malignant sarcomas in humans and affects, in the majority, the large joints. Teenagers and children also account for 30% of reported cases. “The tumor manifests as a slowly growing mass, located deep and painless”, summarizes Orphanet, which sometimes leads to a late diagnosis for patients. Moreover, on standard radiography, nearly 50% of tumors are not visible due to their small size and location.
As reported by the University of Tours, the treatment is generally based on “surgical excision, the difficulty and quality of its margins of which depend essentially on the situation of the tumor. Typically, local excision is performed, removing the tumour, its pseudo-capsule and the peritumoral cuff”. Surgical treatment is essential to remove the tumor but, when it is too deep, amputation may become necessary after chemotherapy.
In the next few days, Matthieu Lartot announced that he was going to enter a chemotherapy protocol: “Behind that, I will have three weeks to rebuild the immunity that the first drugs will have destroyed. Afterwards, it will be the surgical act [amputation] and, finally, the fitting and rehabilitation. »
In this disease, the occurrence of metastases – often to the lungs – is frequent. “The prognosis is guarded because of a high power of recurrence (from 20% to 40%) and metastatic evolution (from 40% to 70%), in particular pulmonary (80%), lymph node or more rarely bone”, warns the University of Tours. Thanks to this intervention, the journalist now sets the sole objective “to be on my feet”: “I give myself all summer to acclimatize to my new mobility and to be able to attend the opening match of the Cup of the world as a supporter of the XV of France. »
