• Surgery (taking out the cancer in an operation).





• Radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells).





• Chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells).

Surgery is the standard treatment for soft tissue sarcoma. The surgeon will remove as much of the cancer as possible, along with some of the normal tissue around it.

Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation may be given before surgery or following surgery (if the surgeon is unable to remove adequate tissue surrounding the tumor). Radiation may come from a machine outside the body (external radiation therapy) or from putting materials that produce radiation (radioisotopes) through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy).

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be given before or after surgery. Chemotherapy may be taken by mouth in the form of a pill, or it may be put into the body by a needle in a vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment because the drugs enter the bloodstream, travel through the body, and can kill cancer cells throughout the body.

In addition, biologic therapy is being tested in clinical trials for soft tissue sarcoma. Biologic therapy is used to boost, direct, or restore the body's natural defenses against cancer. This type of cancer treatment is also called biotherapy or immunotherapy.

Some cancer treatments cause side effects that continue or appear years after cancer treatment has ended. These are called late effects. It is important that parents of children who are treated for cancer know about the possible late effects caused by certain treatments. After several years, some patients develop another form of cancer as a result of their treatment with chemotherapy and radiation.Clinical trials are ongoing to determine if lower doses of chemotherapy and radiation can be used.

Treatment by stage

Treatment for soft tissue sarcoma depends on where the cancer is, how far it has spread, and what the cancer cells look like under a microscope.

The patient may receive treatment that is considered standard based on its effectiveness in a number of patients in past studies, or the doctor may recommend that the patient enter a clinical trial. Not all patients are cured with standard therapy and some standard treatments may have unwanted side effects. For these reasons, clinical trials are designed to test new treatments and to find better ways to treat cancer patients.

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