Targeting Treatment Of Soft Tissue Sarcomas

- Discusses the latest drug treatments in the field - Gleevec arranged a bulk sale for this title - Written by leaders in the industry

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Soft Tissue and Bone Sarcoma" that was published in Cancers

One of the major advances of the last decade concerning the treatment of patients with soft tissue sarcomas is that an increased number of patients are being discussed in multidisciplinary teams prior to the initial treatment. The present volume on soft tissue sarcomas in the series Cancer Treatment and Research reflects the multidisciplinary approach with a focus on recent developments. The availability of new histopathologic techniques has reduced the number of unclassified sarcomas and has furhter increased the importance of the histo pathologist in providing estimates of the prognosis of the patient as well as data for the planning of treatment strategy. Further data for this strategy will be provided by diagnostic imaging. In this field, the role of magnetic reson ance imaging has been further defined. Of utmost importance is the recent trend toward consensus in staging. The modification of the staging system of the American Joint Commission for Cancer Staging and End Results Report ing brings the possibility of a single staging system within reach in the next decade. As surgery still provides the only chance for cure, the importance of being the most sparing as possible is obvious. For this reason, radiotherapy has been applied with success. The introduction of relatively new radiation tech niques is therefore being observed with interest.

Management of Soft Tissue Sarcoma addresses the diagnosis and best current management of adult soft tissue sarcomas. Edited by world renowned experts, this book delineates and discusses each different sarcoma subtype individually. Both clinical and molecular diagnoses are addressed, and tumor histopathology is employed as the basis of treatment recommendations including surgery, radiation therapy, systemic therapy and novel therapeutics.

Part of the acclaimed ACS Atlas of Clinical Oncology series, this book offers an expert overview of soft tissue sarcomas. It discusses diagn osis and staging, surgical approaches, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, pediatric sarcomas, and much more. Topics covered include epidemiolo gy, inherited syndromes, biopsy and surgical techniques, external beam irradiation, brachytherapy, intraoperative radiation therapy, neoadju vant therapy, adjuvant therapy, regional perfusion, pain syndromes, an d rehabilitation.

The previous volume of this series on soft tissue sarcomas highlighted the importance of the multidisciplinary approach to treatment, the focus of which is continued in the present edition. Proper diagnosis and staging remain the cornerstone of the treatment strategy. Sophisticated histopathology techniques and growing consensus on grading systems have further increased the importance of the histopathologist in providing estimates of the prognosis of the patient as well as providing data for the planning of treatment strategy. The use of cytogenetics is relatively new in this field. This might enable the distinction of subgroups in specific histological tumor types. Furthermore, molecular biological studies not only help to reveal inherited predispositions and details in oncogenesis in tumor development, but they may also provide additional predictive factors for tumor behavior. Further data on treatment strategy will be provided by diagnostic imaging, a field in which the role of magnetic resonance imaging is rapidly developing. As far as actual treatment is concerned, surgery still provides the major chance for cure. In view of the endeavor to be as sparing as possible, the addition of radiotherapy to surgery is of utmost importance. Usually radiotherapy is given after surgery, but the optimal sequence of the two modalities still needs to be defined. The combined use of surgery with radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy does have an impact on wound healing.

Management of Soft Tissue Sarcoma, 2nd Edition provides the most comprehensive analysis of demographics and natural history currently available for these lesions, based on the authors’ experience with over 10,000 patients. Sections regarding radiation therapy not found in the previous text have been expanded, as have updates on molecular characteristics of sarcomas and chemotherapy studies published since the prior edition. Clinical and molecular diagnoses are addressed, and tumor histopathology is employed as the basis of treatment recommendations including surgery, radiation and systemic therapy. This is the first book to provide specific chemotherapy opinions for every sarcoma subtype. Written by four world-renowned experts, this book gives a practical, up-to-date approach to managing the many subtypes of adult soft tissue sarcoma. Reviews from the first edition: “This is an impressive book. Written by a surgeon, a pathologist and an oncologist, the book draws heavily on the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center soft tissue sarcoma (STS) database. ... it is a book that should be in the library of any sarcoma unit and will appeal to the sub-specialist in Orthopaedic Oncology.” (Robert U. Ashford, European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology, Vol. 24, 2014) “The book is laid out in 27 chapters, with an impressive inclusion of a wide array of sarcoma histology. One of the real strengths of the book is the quality and number of images, figures, tables, and graphs. ... The overall outline of the text is well done. ... This book is a unique and important addition to the sarcoma literature. ... this edtion should find itself on every medical oncologist’s bookshelf ... .” (Larry C. Daugherty and Sanjay P. Bagaria, Journal of Radiation Oncology, Vol. 3, 2014)

This practical guide to the use of radiotherapy for the treatment of sarcomas and skin cancers covers a wide range of disease scenarios, identifying which treatment techniques are applicable in particular clinical circumstances. Among the conditions considered are extremity soft tissue sarcomas, retroperitoneal soft tissue sarcomas, bone sarcomas, uterine sarcomas, chordomas, pediatric sarcomas, squamous cell carcinomas, basal cell carcinomas, melanomas, Merkel cell carcinomas, and cutaneous lymphomas. Detailed attention is devoted to the issues and considerations of relevance in everyday practice when treating these diseases. The use of multiple radiotherapy techniques and procedures, including IMRT, brachytherapy, radiosurgery, and particle therapy, is fully explained, and the role of radiotherapy in combination with chemotherapy and emerging therapeutics such as immunotherapy and biologic anticancer agents is also addressed. The book will be of high value for practicing radiation oncologists, medical and surgical oncologists, medical physicists, medical dosimetrists, trainees, and other medical professionals.