Incidence, investigations and staging of soft-tissue sarcoma

Soft-tissue sarcomas account for only 1% of all malignant lesions. The Canadian Sarcoma Group encourages the investigation and management of these tumours at tertiary institutions, where a multidisciplinary team can handle the complex problems. Staging of these tumours implies accurate anatomic determination of the extent of disease, the histogenesis and grade of the tumours and the presence of regional or distant metastases. Arteriography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging can accurately define the tumour before biopsy. The biopsy should be muscle-splitting to minimize contamination of additional compartments and should allow inclusion of the biopsy site at definitive surgical resection. It should be done at the institution where definitive management will be performed. Regional lymph-node involvement can be detected using magnetic resonance imaging or gallium scanning, whereas for distant metastases, specifically of lung, computed tomography is the method of choice. To date no one staging system for soft-tissue sarcomas has been universally accepted. A hybrid, encompassing the advantages of each system, is being formulated.