The pathologist's role in a multidisciplinary approach for soft part tissue sarcoma: a reappraisal (39 cases)

A combined treatment modality of radiotherapy, surgery, and monochemotherapy in 39 cases of soft tissue sarcomas is presented. The 39 patients presented initially with local disease only, without evidence of metastases. At the end of the surgical procedure the adequacy of the excision had been evaluated by the pathologist. Surgical procedure was complemented by systematic radiation therapy. The overall recurrence rate was 7.7%; the overall incidence of metastases 31%. In the group in which adequate excision had been obtained, no loco-regional recurrences were obtained, survival was significantly better, and the incidence of metastases was lower than in group in whom adequate excision could not be obtained. The importance of two criteria was stress: the depth and the character of the margins of the tumor which cannot be considered separately. The results suggest that there is a correlation between the general and loco-regional malignancy of soft tissue sarcomas.