Soft tissue sarcomas of the limbs: multidisciplinary treatment

WCRJ 2017; 4 (3): e917
DOI: 10.32113/wcrj_20179_917

  Topic: Medical oncology     Category:

Abstract

Soft Tissue Sarcomas (STS) are rare tumors that arise from mesenchymal tissues. Although STS can arise at any site within the body, 40% typically originate in the limbs. At onset, sarcomas are characterized by a painless mass discovered casually or through an ultrasonographic scan performed for other reasons.
Any superficial mass of 5 cm or more in diameter or a deep mass equal to or greater than 3 cm should be considered suspicious of malignancy. Work-up for an extremity mass suspicious for a STS includes cross-sectional imaging with computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and a core biopsy made in line with the planned incision. For years, STS limbs were treated with amputation. Now, limb-sparing surgery is considered the mainstay therapy for the treatment of STS.
Radiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy are used in combination with surgery to prevent local recurrence and metastasis. Radiation therapy should be considered for tumors with high risk of local recurrence. The timing of radiation is best determined by weighing the increased risk of wound complications from neoadjuvant radiation against the increased risk of side effects to surrounding tissues. The use of adjuvant chemotherapy is controversial; however, there are relative indications for neoadjuvant chemotherapy for tumors with moderate or high risk of distant metastases.

To cite this article

Soft tissue sarcomas of the limbs: multidisciplinary treatment

WCRJ 2017; 4 (3): e917
DOI: 10.32113/wcrj_20179_917

Publication History

Submission date: 07 Jul 2017

Revised on: 25 Jul 2017

Accepted on: 26 Sep 2017

Published online: 29 Sep 2017