Local recurrence in adult soft-tissue sarcoma. A randomized trial of brachytherapy

We conducted a prospective randomized study of the benefit of adjuvant radiation therapy delivered by the brachytherapy technique in 117 adult patients who had soft-tissue sarcoma that was on an extremity or superficially localized to the trunk. A significant decrease in local recurrence was demonstrated in the patients receiving brachytherapy. The benefit did not appear to be due to any maldistribution in the known prognostic factors of size, site, depth, presentation with recurrence, or histologic grade. The decrease in local recurrence appears to be due to the decreased local recurrence in high-grade sarcomas. Survival differences were not identified, and accrual and follow-up were continued.