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The Use of Chemotherapy in Soft-Tissue Sarcomas

Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Correspondence: Alexander I. Spira, M.D., Ph.D., Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Bunting Blaustein Cancer Research Building, Room G88, 1650 Orleans Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21231-1000, USA. Telephone: 410-614-3746; Fax: 410-614-9424; e-mail: spiraal{at}jhmi.edu

The treatment of advanced soft-tissue sarcomas is often palliative, although a subset of patients may be cured or have a long disease-free interval. This paper reviews the historical data over 30 years of treatment that has led to the use of ifosfamide and doxorubicin as the mainstay in the treatment of metastatic disease. These treatments have a high toxicity, relative to other chemotherapeutic regimens, with median response durations on the order of months. Agents developed in the last few years, whose role in the treatment of sarcomas is still evolving, are discussed as well. Finally, we discuss the role of chemotherapy in combination with surgery and radiation in the adjuvant and neoadjuvant settings.

Key Words. Soft-tissue sarcomas • Chemotherapy • Ifosfamide • Doxorubicin

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