title: Radiation therapy for retroperitoneal sarcoma.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Retroperitoneal sarcomas (RPS) are rare tumours with an annual reported incidence of 2.7 per million persons. In spite of improvements in both diagnostic imaging and therapeutic strategies, patients afflicted by RPS still have poor prognoses. There are currently many different therapeutic strategies for these rare tumours and combining several different multi-modality strategies have not proved to have superior long-term clinical results. This review analyses the available published data and discusses multi-modality management of this rare entity. In particular, the role of radiation therapy, treatment-related side effects and the use of modern radiation treatment techniques will be discussed.
  
  
  METHODS
  A comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed in January 2011. Relevant international articles published from January 1980 to January 2011 were assessed. The keywords for search purposes were: retroperitoneum, sarcoma, radiotherapy, and radiation therapy. The search was limited to articles published in English. All articles were read in full by the authors and selected for inclusion based on relevance to this article.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The addition of radiation therapy (RT) to wide surgical excision for RPS has improved local control rates when compared with surgery alone. Preoperative RT is preferred over postoperative RT. New types and delivery techniques in radiation therapy could further improve patient outcomes. Emerging therapies that employ charged particles (such as protons and carbon ions) are expected to be superior in sparing of normal tissues and efficacy over conventional photon therapy radiation, due to their physical and radiobiological properties.
authors.affiliation: Fondazione CNAO, Strada Privata Campeggi 53, 27100, Pavia, Italy, ntrtkl@nccs.com.sg.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tuan
authors.forename: Viviana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vitolo
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Vischioni
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iannalfi
authors.forename: Maria Rosaria
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fossati
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Orecchia
mesh_terms: D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000379:methods; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D051677:Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous / Q000532:radiotherapy; D006801:Humans; D007890:Leiomyosarcoma / Q000532:radiotherapy; D008080:Liposarcoma / Q000532:radiotherapy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000628:therapy; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods; D011379:Prognosis; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012186:Retroperitoneal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000628:therapy; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality / Q000532:radiotherapy* / Q000628:therapy; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18