Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Treatment

Soft tissue sarcomas are treated with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Usually a combination of these modalities offers the best chance to treat the disease successfully. At Mayo Clinic soft tissue sarcomas are treated with two goals in mind: to cure the cancer, and to save as much function of the affected area as possible.

Soft tissue sarcomas occur more frequently in adults than in children and adolescents. At this time, about half of all cases can be successfully treated and cured. The cure rate for soft tissue sarcoma depends on many factors, including:

• The patient's age and general health
• The type and grade of the disease
• The size of the tumor at diagnosis
• The tumor's location in the body
• Whether the sarcoma has spread (metastasized) to other parts of the body

Surgery

Surgery may sometimes be needed to obtain tissue for diagnosis as well as to remove the tumor. Chemotherapy and radiation may be given to improve likelihood that the tumor has been successfully treated.

Chemotherapy

During chemotherapy, a combination of cancer-fighting drugs attacks the soft tissue sarcoma cells wherever they may be in the body.

Radiation

Radiation oncologists apply high-energy external beam radiation to tissues containing soft tissue sarcoma prior to surgery to try to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells. Depending upon the tumor's size, shape and location, they treat tumors using 3D conformal radiation therapy or intensity modulated radiation therapy, a highly precise technology. After removal of the tumor, intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) may be given. IORT may involve placement of hollow tubes for insertion of brachytherapy seeds several days after the surgery. Radiation improves control of the tumor at the initial site for most soft tissue sarcoma patients when radiation is used with surgery.