Surgery

Surgical removal of the tumor and a margin of surrounding healthy tissue is the primary treatment for localized soft-tissue sarcomas (wide local excision). Your doctor may give you chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy before and/or after surgery to shrink the tumor before surgery to lower the risk of the cancer returning after surgery. In rare cases, your doctor may need to remove your entire arm or leg (amputation). With new advances in surgical techniques and the combination of chemotherapy and radiation therapy before or after surgery, limb-sparing surgery can be performed in most cases. Amputation may be necessary in some advanced cases in which the cancer has grown into nerves, blood vessels or bony structures. Removing these tissues may result in a painful limb or one that doesn't function properly, and amputation may be the best option. For some, surgery may be all that is needed.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to target abnormally growing cells in an effort to destroy cancer cells. Most of these medications are given through the vein (intravenously) or by mouth (orally). Chemotherapy may be followed by radiation therapy (rare cases combined) and given before or after surgery, to increase the chances of a successful operation. Chemotherapy may also be given when disease is widespread to shrink the tumor or to slow its growth.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy uses waves of high-energy rays to target and kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy may be used before or after surgery to shrink the tumor or to kill any remaining cancer cells. Your doctor may combine radiation therapy with chemotherapy in rare cases. Occasionally radiotherapy alone may be used to treat sarcomas that are hard to remove surgically. Your doctor may also discuss proton therapy.

• Please see Understanding Proton Therapy to learn more.

Targeted Therapy

Some types of soft-tissue sarcoma have identifiable abnormalities in their cells that fuel cancer cell growth. Targeted cancer therapies are drugs or other substances that block the growth and spread of cancer by interfering with those molecules involved in tumor growth.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials allow patients to try a new treatment before it is available to the general public. In some cases, this may be a new drug that has not been used in humans before, or it may be a drug or drug combination that is not currently used for that specific type of cancer. Early phase clinical trials often involve a small number of patients and are used to understand side effects of a drug or drug combination, while later phase clinical trials are used to see how effective a new treatment might be for a certain type of cancer. Clinical trials allow doctors and researchers to improve the treatment of cancers with possibly more effective therapies. A clinical trial may result in a new, groundbreaking drug or it may have no effect. It is important to talk with your doctor about the pros and cons of clinical trials for your particular situation.