title: Radiation and conservative surgery in the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma.
abstract: Surgery and irradiation were combined in the treatment of 182 patients with soft tissue sarcoma to preserve maximal tissue and function. One hundred sixty-one of 182 patients (88 percent) exhibited local control with a follow-up of from 1 to 12 years. Distant metastases increased with the grade of the tumor from 6 percent for stage I soft tissue sarcomas at 5 years follow-up to 35 percent for stage III tumors. Survival at 5 years was 65 percent. These excellent functional results were obtained with a complication rate of 14 percent. The major complications took place in the lower extremities of patients who would have required a radical compartment resection or radical amputation of the lower extremity had they been treated with surgery alone.
mesh_terms: D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011879:Radiotherapy Dosage; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000601:surgery