Recent progress in pediatric soft tissue sarcoma therapy

Soft tissue sarcomas of childhood are a heterogenous group of tumors with a wide spectrum of presentations and outcomes. Most patients require multimodal therapy with chemotherapy, surgery and/or radiation. Improved outcomes in recent decades have been achieved through improvements in the comprehensive care of these children through large cooperative group studies, even as little progress has been made in the standard chemotherapy backbone. A thorough understanding of the nuances of surgical therapy for these children is required to minimize both the risk of local failure and the possibility of loss of vital form or function.