Soft Tissue Sarcomas of the Extremities

Abstract

The procurement of high local control rates using a combined modality approach and preservation of functional extremities represent two challenges in the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas located in the extremities (Eilber et al. 1980). Systemic therapy is an important component of the treatment of high grade sarcomas and/or large primary tumors, in which the development of distant metastases still makes it difficult to achieve definitive cure of the disease. Randomized trials have established that survival is not compromised by extremity preservation treatment, and adequate combination of surgery and radiotherapy yields survival data as good as those achieved by amputation (Rosenberg et al. 1982). Local recurrences occur in 20% – 25% of cases treated by conventional surgical resection and external beam radiotherapy (Suit et al. 1985). IORT is an alternative boosting technique that has rarely been explored in a systematic fashion in soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities (Dobelbower and ABE 1989).