Fundamentals of Sarcomas

Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are infrequent tumours that can occur almost anywhere in the body but generally originate in the extremities, abdomen/retroperitoneum and trunk. They are treated with excisional surgery, targeted therapy, anti-immune checkpoint immunotherapy and radiotherapy, reserving the use of chemotherapy for advanced disease. Preserving the function of the affected limb is the ideal goal of the treatment of extremity soft tissue sarcomas. A careful pre-therapeutic assessment is essential. These tumours are best treated in multi-disciplinary specialized centres.