[Soft tissue sarcoma--problems of diagnosis and treatment]

Soft tissue sarcomas are a rare group of cancers compromising 1% of all malignancies and there has been a slight increase in incidence. We present 3 cases of soft tissue sarcomas (the tumors were located to the right axilary region, perianal and dorsale face of the left leg) hospitalized in 2nd Surgical Clinic of Emergency Hospital of Craiova and we discuss the difficulties of diagnosis and treatment. The classification and characterization of soft-tissue sarcomas have evolved as the information supplied by histologic analysis has been supplemented with that provided by immunohistochemical analysis. Surgical resection involving wide margins, with or without radiotherapy, offers the best chance of cure in the absence of metastatic disease. There is little evidence that local recurrence increases the likelihood of metastatic spread, although debate on this point continues. Except for rhabdomyosarcomas and Ewing's sarcomas, the use of adjuvant chemotherapy generally does little to influence the natural history of the disease. In conclusion surgical treatment is mainstay of treatment for soft-tissue sarcomas and is usefull the prompt diagnosis for decrease the risk of local recurrence and metastatic disease.