Combined Surgery and Radiation Therapy for Limb Preservation in Soft Tissue Sarcoma of the Extremity: the Massachusetts General Hospital Experience

The results presented here indicate that excellent local control rates can be achieved using radiation in combination with limb-sparing surgery. At least three challenges remain and need to be addressed in future prospective trials. One is the need to reduce wound complications. In this regard, the influence of chemotherapy on the healing of the irradiated wound needs to be better defined as well as the role of recombinant growth factors and cytokines in tissue repair. Second is the need to better assess functional and psychological outcome in patients who are long-term survivors as well as in patients who succumb to distant disease. Despite the limited information on this end-point, it appears that strategies that reduce wound morbidity ultimately have a beneficial outcome with regard to functional and psychological status. Third, our greatest challenge is to improve the rates of distant disease control. Despite excellent local control rates following limb-sparing procedures, greater than 50% of patients will ultimately die of their disease. New systemic therapies must be developed to control systemic dissemination. The ultimate goal of combined surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy will be to preserve limb function in patients who are cured of their disease.