title: Soft-tissue sarcomas: Overview of management, with a focus on surgical treatment considerations.
abstract: Patients with soft-tissue sarcomas generally present with a mass that is increasing in size; the presence or absence of pain is not typically predictive of malignancy. While magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can identify a few soft-tissue lesion types as benign, diagnosis of most lesions requires a careful biopsy, preferably performed by or in consultation with the surgeon who would do an eventual resection. If biopsy confirms a diagnosis of sarcoma, MRI-guided surgical resection with a wide margin is the mainstay of treatment. Neoadjuvant radiation therapy and chemotherapy have not been of proven benefit in well-controlled studies but are frequently used as adjuncts. Resections with wide margins are generally associated with a low (< 10%) risk of recurrence.
authors.affiliation: Director, Musculoskeletal Tumor Center, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, A41, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. lietmas@ccf.org
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Lietman
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D012307:Risk Factors; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D021701:Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy; D016896:Treatment Outcome