Preoperative diagnosis of soft tissue tumours

Over a period of 3 years in Southern Sweden 35 patients were seen with deep-seated limb sarcomas without metastases, 30 of whom were referred before any operation had been carried out. Thirty seven patients with deep-seated benign lesions were referred during the same period because of suspected malignancy. A preoperative diagnosis considered sufficient for a definitive operation was made from the clinical findings, aspiration cytology and radiographic examination, but without open biopsy, in 59 of these 67 cases. The differentiation between a benign and a malignant tumour was correct in all but one. The extent of excision necessary to achieve adequate margins for a soft-tissue sarcoma can often be reduced if open biopsy is avoided, with preservation of function. We conclude that treatment without open biopsy is possible in the great majority of patients with soft-tissue sarcoma.