Stage I Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Treatment of stage I adult soft tissue sarcoma may include the following1:
- Surgery (wide local excision or Mohs microsurgery).
- Radiation therapy before and/or after surgery.
If cancer is found in the head, neck, abdomen, or chest, treatment may include the following:
- Surgery.
- Radiation therapy before or after surgery.
- Fast neutron radiation therapy.
Check for clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage I adult soft tissue sarcoma.
Stage II and III Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Treatment of stage II and III adult soft tissue sarcoma may include the following:
- Surgery (wide local excision).
- Surgery (wide local excision) with radiation therapy, for large tumors.
- High-dose radiation therapy for tumors that cannot be removed by surgery.
- Radiation therapy or chemotherapy before limb-sparing surgery. Radiation therapy may also be given after surgery.
- A clinical trial of surgery followed by chemotherapy, for large tumors.
Check for clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage II adult soft tissue sarcoma and stage III adult soft tissue sarcoma.
Stage IV Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Treatment of stage IV adult soft tissue sarcoma that involves lymph nodes may include the following:
- Surgery (wide local excision) with or without lymphadenectomy. Radiation therapy may also be given after surgery.
- Radiation therapy before and after surgery.
- A clinical trial of surgery followed by chemotherapy.
- A clinical trial of targeted drug therapy (Gleevec) for gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
Treatment of stage IV adult soft tissue sarcoma that involves internal organs of the body may include the following:
- Surgery (wide local excision).
- Surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible, followed by radiation therapy.
- High-dose radiation therapy, with or without chemotherapy, for tumors that cannot be removed by surgery.
- Chemotherapy with 1 or more anticancer drugs, before surgery or as palliative therapy to relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life.
- A clinical trial of chemotherapy with or without stem cell transplant.
- A clinical trial of chemotherapy following surgery to remove cancer that has spread to the lungs.
- A clinical trial of targeted drug therapy (Gleevec) for gastrointestinal stromal tumors.
These treatments may be followed by surgery to remove lesions on the lungs.
This summary section refers to specific treatments under study in clinical trials, but it may not mention every new treatment being studied. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Check for clinical trials from NCI's PDQ Cancer Clinical Trials Registry that are now accepting patients with stage IV adult soft tissue sarcoma.
Recurrent Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Treatment of recurrent adult soft tissue sarcoma may include the following:
- Surgery (wide local excision) with radiation therapy before or after surgery.
- Surgery (amputation).
- Radiation therapy followed by limb-sparing surgery.
- Surgery to remove cancer that has recurred in the lungs.
- Chemotherapy with 1 or more anticancer drugs.
- A clinical trial of new anticancer drugs.
- A clinical trial of high-dose chemotherapy with or without stem cell transplant.
1 Note: The text and images above are in the public domain and were reproduced or adapted from the websites of the National Cancer Institute (NCI): http://www.cancer.gov/ and http://visualsonline.cancer.gov/.