Management of extremity soft-tissue sarcomas.

Management of extremity soft-tissue sarcomas requires accurate clinical staging, pathologic diagnosis, surgical resection with a wide margin, and adjuvant radiation therapy for high-grade lesions. Brachytherapy offers a clean benefit in local control for large (> 5 cm) high-grade sarcomas. The role of radiation therapy for small high-grade and all low-grade soft-tissue sarcomas still is being evaluated. Survival is function of histologic grade, age of patient, size and location of the tumor, metastases, and adequacy of the surgical resection. Efficacy of chemotherapy has yet to be proven.