Treatment of soft tissue sarcoma: a focus on earlier stages

Surgery, with or without radiation therapy, is the standard of care for primary soft tissue sarcoma, with adjuvant/neodjuvant chemotherapy playing a role only in high-risk patients. Chemotherapy is generally the principal treatment modality for locally advanced or metastatic disease. Within this context, newer techniques and promising new treatments are challenging traditional treatment paradigms. For example, identification of histology-specific treatments is leading the field toward individualized care, with better outcomes. Patients over 65 years represent a sizable and largely undertreated sector of the soft tissue sarcoma population, with many being unsuited to receive anthracycline- or ifosfamide-based chemotherapy. First-line treatment options in this population are discussed.