Computed tomography in the management of soft tissue tumors

Forty-six patients with primary soft tissue sarcomas underwent computed tomographic evaluation. Among 21 patients with retroperitoneal sarcomas, computed tomography was misleading in three patients and accurate and helpful in 18 patients. It was also useful in detecting recurrence by follow-up scanning and determining response to chemotherapy. Among 16 patients with tumors of the extremity, computed tomography demonstrated clinically helpful findings in only two patients and was misleading in two others. Computed tomographic scans were helpful and accurate in evaluating six sarcomas involving the trunk and abdominal wall. Computed tomographic scans were more accurate than ultrasonography or xeroradiography when patients had both imaging modalities. Computed tomographic scans should not supplant clinical examination for tumors of the extremity but are valuable in the preoperative evaluation of sarcomas arising at other sites. They are also valuable in the postoperative follow-up study of patients and may detect a recurrence prior to clinical examination.