[Strategy for multimodal therapy of soft tissue sarcomas of the trunk and extremities]

The aim of surgical therapy for soft tissue sarcoma is local tumor control with the best possible functional result. Only small, superficial, well-differentiated or strictly intracompartmental lesions should be treated by surgery alone. In all other cases, especially for recurrent lesions, multimodality treatment strategies should be applied. For locally advanced lesions, neoadjuvant therapy can achieve tumor response. Aside from systemic chemotherapy and preoperative radiation therapy, isolated limb perfusion with tumor necrosis factor and melphalan can aid local control, and thus enable limb-sparing resection. The application of adjuvant systemc chemotherapy must be further investigated in prospective trials before a general recommendation can be given. If the patient has distant metastases, decisions regarding treatment of the local lesion must take into account quality-of-life aspects. Should complete resection not be possible, multimodality strategies may be able to control the tumor for a longer period.