The current reality of soft tissue sarcomas: advances, controversies, areas for improvement, and promising new treatments.

The current reality of soft tissue sarcomas: advances, controversies, areas for improvement, and promising new treatments. Expert Rev Anticancer Ther. 2020 Apr 29;:1-11 Authors: Blay JY, Le Cesne A, Demetri GD Abstract Introduction: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) encompass a group of rare and heterogeneous cancers. Rapid evolution in the field justifies a focused critical review of the clinical literature.Areas covered: Important advances, and associated controversies, in managing patients with STS are reviewed by treatment setting, histopathological subtype, and general management considerations. Despite many advances, opportunities remain to improve care to benefit patients. Areas of sarcoma research showing early promise indicate that new treatment development requires a deeper understanding of the biological characteristics of unique histotypes, with a focus on targeting sarcoma-relevant oncogenic driver mechanisms.Expert opinion: Mandatory treatment of sarcoma patients in reference centers represents a simple and cost-effective means of improving survival as the knowledge generated through international collaboration can be implemented sooner to improve patient outcomes. Sarcoma complexity complicates clinical trial designs in both peri-operative and advanced treatment settings. Future trials in front-line therapy in advanced situations should enroll patients based on the goal of therapy - tumor shrinkage or palliation - using appro...
Source: Expert Review of Anticancer Therapy - Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Expert Rev Anticancer Ther Source Type: research