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Updated: Aug 4, 2025
Establishment of a Primary Culture of Patient-derived Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Published on: April 11, 2018
Quality Measurement for Soft Tissue Sarcomas in Germany: First Results of the Certified Sarcoma Centres
Johannes Rückher1, Ellen Grießhammer1, Thomas Langer1
1German Cancer Society (DKG), Berlin, Germany.
Introduction:
Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are rare diseases. A high level of standardization and centralization was lacking in Germany until 2018.
Methods:
By developing an evidence-based guideline and a certification system for sarcoma centres, foundations for structured, guideline-based, and centralized sarcoma care were defined. First results of the certified sarcoma centres are presented.
Results:
The first 3 years of data collection show good results for case volume, presentation rates in pretherapeutic and postoperative tumour boards, psycho-oncological counselling, and study rates. However, other indicators (e.g., preoperative or postoperative radiotherapy for operated high-risk STS without GIST, counselling rates social services) still have potential for improvement. Based on these results, the set of indicators could be further improved.
Conclusions:
A sarcoma-specific quality assurance scheme that includes guideline-derived quality indicators was developed. In future, a broader database will allow further insights into sarcoma care in Germany.
