Getting up-to-date in the management of soft tissue sarcoma

Surgery (+ radiation therapy in selected cases) is standard treatment for adult-type localized soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Accumulating randomized clinical evidence also supports adjuvant chemotherapy as a treatment option, although this remains contentious. Doxorubicin (± ifosfamide) is the standard first-line systemic treatment for advanced STS; however, newer chemotherapeutic agents may improve outcomes achieved with single-agent doxorubicin. In a Phase II study, adding olaratumab to doxorubicin markedly improved overall survival. Agents for second- and further lines include trabectedin, which combines long-term tumor stabilization with good quality of life, and gemcitabine + docetaxel which can produce a marked clinical response although at the cost of high toxicity. Pazopanib, eribulin, aldoxorubicin and regorafenib are other options for use in advanced STS.