title: Adjuvant chemotherapy for soft tissue sarcomas.
abstract: Soft tissue sarcomas are rare mesenchymal neoplasms with considerable heterogeneity in biologic behavior and response to systemic therapy. Most patients present with localized disease and are potentially curable with multidisciplinary treatment. In patients with a high risk of developing metastatic disease, optimal use of neoadjuvant/adjuvant therapy has a definite role in improving patient outcomes by decreasing local and distant recurrences. Histology-specific clinical trials enrolling a homogenous high-risk population have been more successful in demonstrating benefit than larger trials with unselected heterogeneous patient populations. In specific histologic subtypes responsive to chemotherapy, neoadjuvant chemotherapy with close monitoring of response is recommended.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sarcoma Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA. vravi@mdanderson.org
authors.forename: Vinod
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ravi
authors.forename: Shreyaskumar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patel
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000379:methods; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D046152:Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007890:Leiomyosarcoma / Q000188:drug therapy; D008080:Liposarcoma / Q000188:drug therapy; D015201:Meta-Analysis as Topic; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D012516:Osteosarcoma / Q000188:drug therapy; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013584:Sarcoma, Synovial / Q000188:drug therapy; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*