Soft tissue sarcomas: a ten-year analysis

Malignant soft tissue tumours are uncommon and the diagnosis is often difficult to make. This study of fifty-nine cases represents a pathological perspective of our experience with these tumours over a 10-year period. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma was the most frequent diagnosis made (36%) and the majority of these occurred in the lower limbs. In 11 (19%) cases, the sarcomas could not be further classified along histogenetic lines. We consider some of the reasons for this and discuss these findings in the light of an increasing trend towards the use of smaller samples for diagnosis.