title: Pathologic and molecular aspects of soft tissue sarcomas.
abstract: This article retains the conventional approach to the classification of soft tissue sarcomas, dividing them into several major histogenetic categories based on their overall microscopic appearance, tissue differentiation pattern, and biologic potential. The author advocates a multimodal approach, in which four distinctive data sets--clinical, radiographic, microscopic, and, in some cases, molecular--are considered to establish the diagnosis and treatment plan. Such step-wise analysis is more likely to lead to consistency and accuracy as compared with an intuitive approach based on fragmentary data. The author describes individual lesions of soft tissue as clinicopathologic entities and believes that they can be more accurately diagnosed and appropriately treated with the help of data generated by a multidisciplinary team. In addition, this article emphasizes the need to use emerging molecular techniques that can provide important clues for both diagnosis and prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Box 085, 1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA. bczernia@mdanderson.org
authors.forename: Bogdan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Czerniak
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008967:Molecular Biology; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D014178:Translocation, Genetic