Treatment Options for Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Stage I Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Stage II Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma and Stage III Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma That Has Not Spread to Lymph Nodes
Stage III Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma That Has Spread to Lymph Nodes (Advanced)
Stage IV Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma

A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

Treatment of stage I soft tissue sarcoma may include the following:

• Surgery to remove the tumor, such as Mohs microsurgery for small sarcomas of the skin, wide local excision, or limb-sparing surgery.
• Radiation therapy before and/or after surgery.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage I adult soft tissue sarcoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Treatment of stage II adult soft tissue sarcoma and stage III adult soft tissue sarcoma that has not spread to lymph nodes may include the following:

• Surgery to remove the tumor, such as wide local excision or limb-sparing surgery.
• Radiation therapy before or after surgery.
• Radiation therapy or chemotherapy before limb-sparing surgery. Radiation therapy may also be given after surgery.
• High-dose radiation therapy for tumors that cannot be removed by surgery.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage II adult soft tissue sarcoma and stage III adult soft tissue sarcoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Treatment of stage III adult soft tissue sarcoma that has spread to lymph nodes (advanced) may include the following:

• Surgery (wide local excision) with lymphadenectomy. Radiation therapy may also be given after surgery.
• A clinical trial of surgery followed by chemotherapy.
• A clinical trial of regional hyperthermia therapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage III adult soft tissue sarcoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Treatment of stage IV adult soft tissue sarcoma may include the following:

• Chemotherapy.
• Surgery to remove cancer that has spread to the lungs.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with stage IV adult soft tissue sarcoma. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.