Soft tissue sarcoma in adults.

The importance of a multidisciplinary group in the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas is well established. This approach has led to a major shift in treatment from a single-modality radical surgery to a more sophisticated approach with limb-sparing resections integrated with external irradiation, interstitial irradiation, or both. The increasing knowledge of both the molecular mechanisms of sarcoma development and the biological characteristics (tumor cell proliferation, hypoxia, necrosis, angio-genesis) will enable us to predict prognosis on a more individual basis and thus allow for more selective treatment strategies. Studies relating these molecular markers and biological characteristics to treatment results obtained with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy are eagerly awaited.