[Soft tissue sarcoma--epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment]

On account of the considerable variability of the clinical situation, treatment of soft tissue sarcoma requires an individually oriented multimodal approach. In the case of patients with superficial low-grade tumors measuring less than 5 cm in diameter, resection alone is usually adequate. In the event of medium-grade lesions, resection with negative margins, resection in combination with radiotherapy achieves excellent local control rates associated with an overall survival rate of almost 80%. In patients with high-grade sarcomas measuring more than 5 cm in diameter, local control can be achieved with resection and radiotherapy, although every second such patient develops metastases. For patients with local recurrence, further resection should be considered/performed. Radiotherapy is all the more effective, the smaller the postoperative tumor cell burden.