Surgery for Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Surgery is commonly used to treat soft tissue sarcomas. Complete surgical resection is the cornerstone of treatment and prognosis depends upon tumour size, grade and location. The goal of surgery is to remove the entire tumour along with at least 1 to 2 cm of the normal tissue around it (margins). This is to make sure all the cancer has been removed.

Abdominal Sarcoma

When the tumour is in the abdomen, it can be hard to remove it and enough normal tissue to get clear margins, this is because the tumour could be next to vital organs that can’t be taken out. Sometimes an adjacent organ (for example a kidney, spleen or segment of bowel) is removed with the tumour to optimise margins.

Limb Sarcoma

In the past, many sarcomas in the arms and legs were treated by removing the entire limb (amputation). Today, this is rarely performed, instead the standard is to remove the tumour without amputation. This is called limb-sparing surgery. A tissue graft or flap may be used to replace the removed tissue. This is often performed in conjunction with radiation therapy (either before or after surgery).

Sometimes, an amputation is recommended, as it might be the only way to remove all of the cancer.