Incidence

Pediatric soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are a heterogenous group of malignant tumors that originate from primitive mesenchymal tissue and account for 7% of all childhood tumors.[3] Multidisciplinary evaluation in centers that have surgical and radiotherapeutic expertise is of critical importance to ensure the best clinical outcome for these patients. Although surgery with or without radiation therapy can be curative for a significant proportion of patients, the addition of chemotherapy might benefit subsets of children with the disease; therefore, enrollment into clinical trials is encouraged.

Rhabdomyosarcoma, a tumor of striated muscle, is the most common STS in children aged 0 to 14 years and accounts for 50% of tumors in this age group.[4] (Refer to the PDQ summary on Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma Treatment for more information.) The remaining STSs are commonly referred to as nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STSs and account for about 3% of all childhood tumors.[5] This heterogeneous group of tumors includes neoplasms of:[6]

• Connective tissue (e.g., desmoid fibromatosis, liposarcoma).
• Peripheral nervous system (e.g., malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor).
• Smooth muscle (e.g., leiomyosarcoma).
• Vascular tissue (blood and lymphatic vessels, e.g., angiosarcoma).

In children, synovial sarcoma, fibrosarcoma, fibrohistiocytic tumors, and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors predominate.[7,8] The distribution of STSs by histology and age, based on the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) information from 1975 to 2008, is depicted in Table 1. The distribution of histologic types by age is shown in Figure 1.

Figure

Figure 1. The distribution of nonrhabdomyosarcomatous soft tissue sarcomas in children aged 0 to 19 years, as reported by the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results program from 1975 to 2008.

Nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STSs are more common in adolescents and adults,[6] and most of the information regarding treatment and natural history of the disease in younger patients has been based on adult studies.

Risk Factors

Some genetic and environmental factors have been associated with the development of nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STS:

• Genetic factors:

  -

  Li-Fraumeni syndrome: Patients with Li-Fraumeni syndrome (usually due to heritable cancer-associated changes of the p53 tumor suppressor gene) have an increased risk of developing soft tissue tumors (mostly nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STSs), bone sarcomas, breast cancer, brain tumors, and acute leukemia.[5,9]

  -

  Neurofibromatosis type 1: Approximately 4% of patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 develop malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, which usually develop after a long latency; some patients develop multiple lesions.[10-12]

  -

  Familial adenomatous polyposis: Patients with familial adenomatous polyposis are at increased risk of developing desmoid tumors.[13]

  -

  Werner syndrome: Werner syndrome is characterized by spontaneous chromosomal instability, resulting in increased susceptibility to cancer and premature aging. An excess of STSs has been reported in patients with Werner syndrome.[14]

  -

  Retinoblastoma gene: Germline mutations of the retinoblastoma gene have been associated with an increased risk of developing STSs, particularly leiomyosarcoma.[15]

• Environmental factors:

  -

  Radiation: Some nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STSs (particularly malignant fibrous histiocytoma) can develop within a previously irradiated site.[5,16]

  -

  Epstein-Barr virus infection in patients with AIDS: Some nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STSs (e.g., leiomyosarcoma) have been linked to Epstein-Barr virus infection in patients with AIDS.[5,17]

Clinical Presentation

Although nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STSs can develop in any part of the body, they arise most commonly in the trunk and extremities.[7,18,19] These neoplasms can present initially as an asymptomatic solid mass, or they may be symptomatic because of local invasion of adjacent anatomical structures. Although rare, these tumors can arise primarily in brain tissue and are treated according to the histiotype.[20]

Systemic symptoms (e.g., fever, weight loss, and night sweats) are rare. Hypoglycemia and hypophosphatemic rickets have been reported in cases of hemangiopericytoma, whereas hyperglycemia has been noted in patients with fibrosarcoma of the lung.[21]

Diagnosis

When a suspicious lesion is identified, it is crucial that a complete workup, followed by adequate biopsy be performed. Generally, it is better to image the lesion before any interventions. Plain films can be used to rule out bone involvement and detect calcifications that may be seen in soft tissue tumors such as extraskeletal osteosarcoma or synovial sarcoma. Chest radiography and computed tomography (CT) of chest are essential to assess the presence of metastases. CT can be used to image intra-abdominal tumors, such as liposarcoma, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used for extremity lesions.

Nonrhabdomyosarcomatous soft tissue tumors are fairly readily distinguished pathologically from rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma; however, classification of childhood nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STS type is often difficult. Core-needle biopsy, incisional biopsy, or excisional biopsy can be used to diagnose a nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STS. Fine-needle biopsy is usually not recommended because it is difficult to determine the accurate histologic diagnosis and grade of the tumor in this heterogeneous group of tumors. If possible, the surgeon who will perform the definitive resection needs to be involved in the biopsy decision. Poorly placed incisions or needle placement may adversely affect the performance of the primary resection. A core-needle biopsy or small incisional biopsy that obtains adequate tumor tissue is crucial to allow for conventional histology, immunocytochemical analysis, and other studies such as light and electron microscopy, cytogenetics, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and molecular pathology,[22,23] given the diagnostic importance of translocations. Needle biopsy techniques must obtain an adequate tissue sample and usually require obtaining multiple cores of tissue. Image guidance using ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI may be necessary to ensure a representative biopsy.[24] Incisional biopsies are acceptable but should not compromise subsequent wide local excision. Excisional biopsy of the lesion is only appropriate for small superficial lesions (<3 cm in size).[25,26] Transverse extremity incisions should be avoided to reduce skin loss, as should extensive surgical procedures before definitive diagnosis. For these reasons, open biopsy or multiple core-needle biopsies are strongly encouraged so that adequate tumor tissue can be obtained to allow for crucial studies to be performed and to avoid limiting future treatment options. Core-needle biopsy for a deep-seated tumor can lead to formation of a hematoma, which affects subsequent resection and/or radiation; in these cases, incisional biopsy is the preferred procedure.

In children with unplanned resection of nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STSs, primary re-excision is frequently recommended because many patients will have tumor present in the re-excision specimen.[27,28] A single-institution analysis of adolescents and adults compared patients with unplanned excision of STS to stage-matched controls. In this retrospective analysis, unplanned initial excision of STS resulted in increased risk for local recurrence, metastasis, and death, and this increase was greatest for high-grade tumors.[29][Level of evidence: 3iiA]

Many nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STSs are characterized by chromosomal abnormalities. Some of these chromosomal translocations lead to a fusion of two disparate genes. The resulting fusion transcript can be readily detected by using polymerase chain reaction-based techniques, thus facilitating the diagnosis of those neoplasms that have translocations. Some of the most frequent aberrations seen in nonrhabdomyosarcomatous soft tissue tumors are listed in Table 2.

Prognosis

The prognosis of nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STS tumors varies greatly depending on the histologic grade, invasiveness, tumor size, resectability, use of radiation therapy, site of primary tumor, and presence of metastases.[41-43] Some pediatric nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STSs are associated with a better outcome. For instance, infantile fibrosarcoma, presenting in infants and children younger than 5 years, has an excellent prognosis given that the tumor is highly chemosensitive and surgery alone can cure a significant number of these patients.[5]

Soft tissue sarcomas in older children and adolescents often behave similarly to those in adult patients.[5,22]

Pediatric patients with unresected localized nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STSs have a poor outcome. Only about one-third of patients treated with multimodality therapy remain disease free.[41,44]; [45,46][Level of evidence: 3iiiA]

In a pooled analysis from U.S. and European pediatric centers, outcome was better for patients who received radiation therapy than for patients who did not, and outcome was better for patients whose tumor-removal procedure was deemed complete than for patients whose tumor removal was incomplete.[45][Level of evidence: 3iiiA]

Because long-term related morbidity must be minimized while disease-free survival is maximized, the ideal therapy for each patient must be carefully and individually determined utilizing these prognostic factors before initiating therapy for these patients.[18,47-51]

Related Disease Summaries

Refer to the following PDQ summaries for information about other types of sarcoma:

• Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma Treatment.
• Ewing Sarcoma Treatment (extraosseous Ewing, peripheral neuroepithelioma, and Askin tumors).
• Unusual Cancers of Childhood Treatment (gastrointestinal stromal tumors).
• Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma Treatment.

References

1. Smith MA, Altekruse SF, Adamson PC, et al.: Declining childhood and adolescent cancer mortality. Cancer 120 (16): 2497-506, 2014. [PMC free article: PMC4136455] [PubMed: 24853691]
2. Guidelines for the pediatric cancer center and role of such centers in diagnosis and treatment. American Academy of Pediatrics Section Statement Section on Hematology/Oncology. Pediatrics 99 (1): 139-41, 1997. [PubMed: 8989352]
3. Pappo AS, Pratt CB: Soft tissue sarcomas in children. Cancer Treat Res 91: 205-22, 1997. [PubMed: 9286498]
4. Ries LA, Smith MA, Gurney JG, et al., eds.: Cancer incidence and survival among children and adolescents: United States SEER Program 1975-1995. Bethesda, Md: National Cancer Institute, SEER Program, 1999. NIH Pub.No. 99-4649. Also available online. Last accessed December 10, 2015.
5. Okcu MF, Pappo AS, Hicks J, et al.: The nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcomas. In: Pizzo PA, Poplack DG, eds.: Principles and Practice of Pediatric Oncology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2011, pp 954-86.
6. Weiss SW, Goldblum JR: General considerations. In: Weiss SW, Goldblum JR: Enzinger and Weiss's Soft Tissue Tumors. 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby, 2008, pp 1-14.
7. Dillon P, Maurer H, Jenkins J, et al.: A prospective study of nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcomas in the pediatric age group. J Pediatr Surg 27 (2): 241-4; discussion 244-5, 1992. [PubMed: 1314309]
8. Herzog CE: Overview of sarcomas in the adolescent and young adult population. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol 27 (4): 215-8, 2005. [PubMed: 15838394]
9. Chang F, Syrjänen S, Syrjänen K: Implications of the p53 tumor-suppressor gene in clinical oncology. J Clin Oncol 13 (4): 1009-22, 1995. [PubMed: 7707100]
10. Weiss SW, Goldblum JR: Benign tumors of peripheral nerves. In: Weiss SW, Goldblum JR: Enzinger and Weiss's Soft Tissue Tumors. 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby, 2008, pp 825-901.
11. deCou JM, Rao BN, Parham DM, et al.: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors: the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital experience. Ann Surg Oncol 2 (6): 524-9, 1995. [PubMed: 8591083]
12. Stark AM, Buhl R, Hugo HH, et al.: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours--report of 8 cases and review of the literature. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 143 (4): 357-63; discussion 363-4, 2001. [PubMed: 11437289]
13. Groen EJ, Roos A, Muntinghe FL, et al.: Extra-intestinal manifestations of familial adenomatous polyposis. Ann Surg Oncol 15 (9): 2439-50, 2008. [PMC free article: PMC2518080] [PubMed: 18612695]
14. Goto M, Miller RW, Ishikawa Y, et al.: Excess of rare cancers in Werner syndrome (adult progeria). Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 5 (4): 239-46, 1996. [PubMed: 8722214]
15. Kleinerman RA, Tucker MA, Abramson DH, et al.: Risk of soft tissue sarcomas by individual subtype in survivors of hereditary retinoblastoma. J Natl Cancer Inst 99 (1): 24-31, 2007. [PubMed: 17202110]
16. Weiss SW, Goldblum JR: Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (pleomorphic undifferentiated sarcoma). In: Weiss SW, Goldblum JR: Enzinger and Weiss's Soft Tissue Tumors. 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby, 2008, pp 403-27.
17. McClain KL, Leach CT, Jenson HB, et al.: Association of Epstein-Barr virus with leiomyosarcomas in children with AIDS. N Engl J Med 332 (1): 12-8, 1995. [PubMed: 7990860]
18. Rao BN: Nonrhabdomyosarcoma in children: prognostic factors influencing survival. Semin Surg Oncol 9 (6): 524-31, 1993 Nov-Dec. [PubMed: 8284572]
19. Zeytoonjian T, Mankin HJ, Gebhardt MC, et al.: Distal lower extremity sarcomas: frequency of occurrence and patient survival rate. Foot Ankle Int 25 (5): 325-30, 2004. [PubMed: 15134614]
20. Benesch M, von Bueren AO, Dantonello T, et al.: Primary intracranial soft tissue sarcoma in children and adolescents: a cooperative analysis of the European CWS and HIT study groups. J Neurooncol 111 (3): 337-45, 2013. [PubMed: 23229762]
21. Weiss SW, Goldblum JR: Miscellaneous tumors of intermediate malignancy. In: Weiss SW, Goldblum JR: Enzinger and Weiss's Soft Tissue Tumors. 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby, 2008, pp 1093-1160.
22. Weiss SW, Goldblum JR: Enzinger and Weiss's Soft Tissue Tumors. 4th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby, 2001.
23. Recommendations for the reporting of soft tissue sarcomas. Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology. Mod Pathol 11 (12): 1257-61, 1998. [PubMed: 9872660]
24. Chowdhury T, Barnacle A, Haque S, et al.: Ultrasound-guided core needle biopsy for the diagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma in childhood. Pediatr Blood Cancer 53 (3): 356-60, 2009. [PubMed: 19418540]
25. Coffin CM, Dehner LP, O'Shea PA: Pediatric Soft Tissue Tumors: A Clinical, Pathological, and Therapeutic Approach. Baltimore, Md: Williams and Wilkins, 1997.
26. Smith LM, Watterson J, Scott SM: Medical and surgical management of pediatric soft tissue tumors. In: Coffin CM, Dehner LP, O'Shea PA: Pediatric Soft Tissue Tumors: A Clinical, Pathological, and Therapeutic Approach. Baltimore, Md: Williams and Wilkins, 1997, pp 360-71.
27. Chui CH, Spunt SL, Liu T, et al.: Is reexcision in pediatric nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma necessary after an initial unplanned resection? J Pediatr Surg 37 (10): 1424-9, 2002. [PubMed: 12378447]
28. Cecchetto G, Guglielmi M, Inserra A, et al.: Primary re-excision: the Italian experience in patients with localized soft-tissue sarcomas. Pediatr Surg Int 17 (7): 532-4, 2001. [PubMed: 11666052]
29. Qureshi YA, Huddy JR, Miller JD, et al.: Unplanned excision of soft tissue sarcoma results in increased rates of local recurrence despite full further oncological treatment. Ann Surg Oncol 19 (3): 871-7, 2012. [PubMed: 21792512]
30. Sandberg AA: Translocations in malignant tumors. Am J Pathol 159 (6): 1979-80, 2001. [PMC free article: PMC1850575] [PubMed: 11733346]
31. Slater O, Shipley J: Clinical relevance of molecular genetics to paediatric sarcomas. J Clin Pathol 60 (11): 1187-94, 2007. [PMC free article: PMC2095484] [PubMed: 17468291]
32. Mertens F, Antonescu CR, Hohenberger P, et al.: Translocation-related sarcomas. Semin Oncol 36 (4): 312-23, 2009. [PubMed: 19664492]
33. Romeo S, Dei Tos AP: Clinical application of molecular pathology in sarcomas. Curr Opin Oncol 23 (4): 379-84, 2011. [PubMed: 21577110]
34. Ladanyi M, Lui MY, Antonescu CR, et al.: The der(17)t(X;17)(p11;q25) of human alveolar soft part sarcoma fuses the TFE3 transcription factor gene to ASPL, a novel gene at 17q25. Oncogene 20 (1): 48-57, 2001. [PubMed: 11244503]
35. Ladanyi M: The emerging molecular genetics of sarcoma translocations. Diagn Mol Pathol 4 (3): 162-73, 1995. [PubMed: 7493135]
36. Williams A, Bartle G, Sumathi VP, et al.: Detection of ASPL/TFE3 fusion transcripts and the TFE3 antigen in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue in a series of 18 cases of alveolar soft part sarcoma: useful diagnostic tools in cases with unusual histological features. Virchows Arch 458 (3): 291-300, 2011. [PubMed: 21279521]
37. Antonescu CR, Dal Cin P, Nafa K, et al.: EWSR1-CREB1 is the predominant gene fusion in angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 46 (12): 1051-60, 2007. [PubMed: 17724745]
38. Barnoud R, Sabourin JC, Pasquier D, et al.: Immunohistochemical expression of WT1 by desmoplastic small round cell tumor: a comparative study with other small round cell tumors. Am J Surg Pathol 24 (6): 830-6, 2000. [PubMed: 10843285]
39. Errani C, Zhang L, Sung YS, et al.: A novel WWTR1-CAMTA1 gene fusion is a consistent abnormality in epithelioid hemangioendothelioma of different anatomic sites. Genes Chromosomes Cancer 50 (8): 644-53, 2011. [PMC free article: PMC3264678] [PubMed: 21584898]
40. Jain S, Xu R, Prieto VG, et al.: Molecular classification of soft tissue sarcomas and its clinical applications. Int J Clin Exp Pathol 3 (4): 416-28, 2010. [PMC free article: PMC2872748] [PubMed: 20490332]
41. Spunt SL, Hill DA, Motosue AM, et al.: Clinical features and outcome of initially unresected nonmetastatic pediatric nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma. J Clin Oncol 20 (15): 3225-35, 2002. [PubMed: 12149295]
42. Spunt SL, Poquette CA, Hurt YS, et al.: Prognostic factors for children and adolescents with surgically resected nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma: an analysis of 121 patients treated at St Jude Children's Research Hospital. J Clin Oncol 17 (12): 3697-705, 1999. [PubMed: 10577841]
43. Ferrari A, Casanova M, Collini P, et al.: Adult-type soft tissue sarcomas in pediatric-age patients: experience at the Istituto Nazionale Tumori in Milan. J Clin Oncol 23 (18): 4021-30, 2005. [PubMed: 15767645]
44. O'Sullivan B, Davis AM, Turcotte R, et al.: Preoperative versus postoperative radiotherapy in soft-tissue sarcoma of the limbs: a randomised trial. Lancet 359 (9325): 2235-41, 2002. [PubMed: 12103287]
45. Ferrari A, Miceli R, Rey A, et al.: Non-metastatic unresected paediatric non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcomas: results of a pooled analysis from United States and European groups. Eur J Cancer 47 (5): 724-31, 2011. [PMC free article: PMC3539303] [PubMed: 21145727]
46. Smith KB, Indelicato DJ, Knapik JA, et al.: Definitive radiotherapy for unresectable pediatric and young adult nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma. Pediatr Blood Cancer 57 (2): 247-51, 2011. [PubMed: 21671361]
47. Dillon PW, Whalen TV, Azizkhan RG, et al.: Neonatal soft tissue sarcomas: the influence of pathology on treatment and survival. Children's Cancer Group Surgical Committee. J Pediatr Surg 30 (7): 1038-41, 1995. [PubMed: 7472928]
48. Pappo AS, Fontanesi J, Luo X, et al.: Synovial sarcoma in children and adolescents: the St Jude Children's Research Hospital experience. J Clin Oncol 12 (11): 2360-6, 1994. [PubMed: 7964951]
49. Marcus KC, Grier HE, Shamberger RC, et al.: Childhood soft tissue sarcoma: a 20-year experience. J Pediatr 131 (4): 603-7, 1997. [PubMed: 9386667]
50. Pratt CB, Pappo AS, Gieser P, et al.: Role of adjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of surgically resected pediatric nonrhabdomyosarcomatous soft tissue sarcomas: A Pediatric Oncology Group Study. J Clin Oncol 17 (4): 1219, 1999. [PubMed: 10561182]
51. Pratt CB, Maurer HM, Gieser P, et al.: Treatment of unresectable or metastatic pediatric soft tissue sarcomas with surgery, irradiation, and chemotherapy: a Pediatric Oncology Group study. Med Pediatr Oncol 30 (4): 201-9, 1998. [PubMed: 9473754]

World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Soft Tissue Sarcomas (STSs)

The WHO lists the following cell types in its classification of STSs:[1,2]

This summary focuses on high-grade sarcomas and low-grade tumors that present special problems in the pediatric and adolescent population, including desmoid tumor and infantile fibrosarcoma. For many low-grade STSs, surgical resection is curative and there is no need for additional therapy.

• Adipocytic tumors.

  -

  Liposarcoma—myxoid or well-differentiated.

• Chondro-osseous tumors.

  -

  Extraskeletal chondrosarcoma (mesenchymal and other variants).[3]

  -

  Extraskeletal osteosarcoma.

• Fibroblastic/myofibroblastic tumors.

  -

  Desmoid tumor (also called aggressive fibromatosis).^a

  -

  Fibrosarcoma.^b[4]

  -

  Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor.^a

  -

  Low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma.[5]

  -

  Myxofibrosarcoma, low grade.

  -

  Sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma.

• Skeletal muscle tumors.

  -

  Rhabdomyosarcoma (embryonal, alveolar, and pleomorphic forms). (Refer to the Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma Treatment summary for more information.)

• Smooth muscle tumors.

  -

  Leiomyosarcoma.

• So-called fibrohistiocytic tumors.

  -

  Plexiform fibrohistiocytic tumor.^a

  -

  Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma/malignant fibrous histiocytoma (including pleomorphic, giant cell, myxoid/high-grade myxofibrosarcoma, and inflammatory forms).

• Tumors of peripheral nerves.

  -

  Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor.

• Tumors of uncertain differentiation.

  -

  Alveolar soft part sarcoma.

  -

  Clear cell sarcoma of soft tissue.

  -

  Desmoplastic small round cell tumor.[6]

  -

  Epithelioid sarcoma.

  -

  Extrarenal rhabdoid tumor.

  -

  Extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma.

  -

  Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET)/extraskeletal Ewing tumor.

  -

  Synovial sarcoma.

  -

  Undifferentiated sarcoma; sarcoma, not otherwise specified (NOS).[7]

• Vascular tumors.

  -

  Angiosarcoma, deep.^c

  -

  Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.

  -

  Hemangiopericytoma (infantile).

[Note: ^aNot a high-grade tumor; ^bThe category of fibrosarcoma can be inclusive of fibrosarcomatous differentiation in dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans; ^cCutaneous angiosarcoma may be difficult to stage using the American Joint Committee on Cancer system.]

References

1. Soft tissue sarcoma. In: Edge SB, Byrd DR, Compton CC, et al., eds.: AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. 7th ed. New York, NY: Springer, 2010, pp 291-6.
2. Brodowicz T, Schwameis E, Widder J, et al.: Intensified Adjuvant IFADIC Chemotherapy for Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma: A Prospective Randomized Feasibility Trial. Sarcoma 4 (4): 151-60, 2000. [PMC free article: PMC2395444] [PubMed: 18521295]
3. Dantonello TM, Int-Veen C, Leuschner I, et al.: Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma of soft tissues and bone in children, adolescents, and young adults: experiences of the CWS and COSS study groups. Cancer 112 (11): 2424-31, 2008. [PubMed: 18438777]
4. Steelman C, Katzenstein H, Parham D, et al.: Unusual presentation of congenital infantile fibrosarcoma in seven infants with molecular-genetic analysis. Fetal Pediatr Pathol 30 (5): 329-37, 2011. [PubMed: 21843073]
5. Evans HL: Low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma: a clinicopathologic study of 33 cases with long-term follow-up. Am J Surg Pathol 35 (10): 1450-62, 2011. [PubMed: 21921785]
6. Barnoud R, Sabourin JC, Pasquier D, et al.: Immunohistochemical expression of WT1 by desmoplastic small round cell tumor: a comparative study with other small round cell tumors. Am J Surg Pathol 24 (6): 830-6, 2000. [PubMed: 10843285]
7. Alaggio R, Collini P, Randall RL, et al.: Undifferentiated high-grade pleomorphic sarcomas in children: a clinicopathologic study of 10 cases and review of literature. Pediatr Dev Pathol 13 (3): 209-17, 2010 May-Jun. [PubMed: 20055602]

Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Staging System

TNM Staging System

The AJCC has designated staging by the four criteria of tumor size, nodal status, histologic grade, and metastasis.[4]

Soft Tissue Sarcoma Tumor Pathological Grading System

In most cases, accurate histopathologic classification of STSs alone does not yield optimal information about their clinical behavior. Therefore, several histologic parameters, including degree of cellularity, cellular pleomorphism, mitotic activity, degree of necrosis, and invasive growth, are evaluated in the grading process. This process is used to improve the correlation between histologic findings and clinical outcome.[5] In children, grading of STSs is compromised by the good prognosis of certain tumors, such as infantile fibrosarcoma and hemangiopericytoma, which have a good prognosis in children younger than 4 years, and also angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma and dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, which may recur locally if incompletely excised, but usually do not metastasize.

Testing a grading system within the pediatric population is difficult because of the rarity of these neoplasms. In March 1986, the Pediatric Oncology Group (POG) conducted a prospective study on pediatric STSs other than rhabdomyosarcoma and devised the grading system that is shown below. Analysis of outcome for patients with localized STSs other than rhabdomyosarcoma demonstrated that patients with grade 3 tumors fared significantly worse than those with grade 1 or grade 2 lesions. This finding suggests that this system can accurately predict the clinical behavior of nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STS.[5-7]

The grading systems developed by the POG and the French Federation of Comprehensive Cancer Centers (Fédération Nationale des Centres de Lutte Contre Le Cancer [FNCLCC]) Sarcoma Group are described below. These grading systems are being compared by the central review pathologists on the COG-ARST0332 study. The study has closed and results are pending.

Prognostic Significance of Tumor Grading

The two grading systems described above have proven to be of prognostic value in pediatric and adult nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STSs.[10-14] In a study of 130 tumors from children and adolescents with nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STS enrolled in three prospective clinical trials, a correlation was found between the POG-assigned grade and the FNCLCC-assigned grade. However, grading did not correlate in all cases; 44 tumors received discrepant grades and their clinical outcome was intermediate between those who were assigned grades 1 and 2 or 3 in both systems. A mitotic index of 10 or greater emerged as an important prognostic factor.[15] The recently completed COG-ARST0332 trial will analyze data comparing the POG and FNCLCC pathologic grading systems to determine which system better correlates with clinical outcomes.

In a review of a large adult series of nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STSs, superficial extremity sarcomas had a better prognosis than deep tumors. Thus, in addition to grade and size, the depth of invasion of the tumor should be considered.[16]

Several adult and pediatric series have shown that patients with large or invasive tumors have a significantly worse prognosis than do those with small, noninvasive tumors. A retrospective review of STSs in children and adolescents suggests that the 5 cm cutoff used for adults with STS may not be ideal for smaller children, especially infants. The review identified an interaction between tumor diameter and body surface area.[17] This relationship requires further study to determine the therapeutic implications of the observation.

References

1. American Joint Committee on Cancer: AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. 6th ed. New York, NY: Springer, 2002.
2. Maurer HM, Beltangady M, Gehan EA, et al.: The Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study-I. A final report. Cancer 61 (2): 209-20, 1988. [PubMed: 3275486]
3. Harmer MH, ed.: TNM Classification of Pediatric Tumors. Geneva: UICC, 1982.
4. Soft tissue sarcoma. In: Edge SB, Byrd DR, Compton CC, et al., eds.: AJCC Cancer Staging Manual. 7th ed. New York, NY: Springer, 2010, pp 291-6.
5. Parham DM, Webber BL, Jenkins JJ 3rd, et al.: Nonrhabdomyosarcomatous soft tissue sarcomas of childhood: formulation of a simplified system for grading. Mod Pathol 8 (7): 705-10, 1995. [PubMed: 8539226]
6. Recommendations for the reporting of soft tissue sarcomas. Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology. Mod Pathol 11 (12): 1257-61, 1998. [PubMed: 9872660]
7. Skytting B, Meis-Kindblom JM, Larsson O, et al.: Synovial sarcoma--identification of favorable and unfavorable histologic types: a Scandinavian sarcoma group study of 104 cases. Acta Orthop Scand 70 (6): 543-54, 1999. [PubMed: 10665717]
8. Coindre JM, Terrier P, Guillou L, et al.: Predictive value of grade for metastasis development in the main histologic types of adult soft tissue sarcomas: a study of 1240 patients from the French Federation of Cancer Centers Sarcoma Group. Cancer 91 (10): 1914-26, 2001. [PubMed: 11346874]
9. Guillou L, Coindre JM, Bonichon F, et al.: Comparative study of the National Cancer Institute and French Federation of Cancer Centers Sarcoma Group grading systems in a population of 410 adult patients with soft tissue sarcoma. J Clin Oncol 15 (1): 350-62, 1997. [PubMed: 8996162]
10. Rao BN: Nonrhabdomyosarcoma in children: prognostic factors influencing survival. Semin Surg Oncol 9 (6): 524-31, 1993 Nov-Dec. [PubMed: 8284572]
11. Pisters PW, Leung DH, Woodruff J, et al.: Analysis of prognostic factors in 1,041 patients with localized soft tissue sarcomas of the extremities. J Clin Oncol 14 (5): 1679-89, 1996. [PubMed: 8622088]
12. Coindre JM, Terrier P, Bui NB, et al.: Prognostic factors in adult patients with locally controlled soft tissue sarcoma. A study of 546 patients from the French Federation of Cancer Centers Sarcoma Group. J Clin Oncol 14 (3): 869-77, 1996. [PubMed: 8622035]
13. Pappo AS, Fontanesi J, Luo X, et al.: Synovial sarcoma in children and adolescents: the St Jude Children's Research Hospital experience. J Clin Oncol 12 (11): 2360-6, 1994. [PubMed: 7964951]
14. Pratt CB, Maurer HM, Gieser P, et al.: Treatment of unresectable or metastatic pediatric soft tissue sarcomas with surgery, irradiation, and chemotherapy: a Pediatric Oncology Group study. Med Pediatr Oncol 30 (4): 201-9, 1998. [PubMed: 9473754]
15. Khoury JD, Coffin CM, Spunt SL, et al.: Grading of nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma in children and adolescents: a comparison of parameters used for the Fédération Nationale des Centers de Lutte Contre le Cancer and Pediatric Oncology Group Systems. Cancer 116 (9): 2266-74, 2010. [PMC free article: PMC2987713] [PubMed: 20166208]
16. Brooks AD, Heslin MJ, Leung DH, et al.: Superficial extremity soft tissue sarcoma: an analysis of prognostic factors. Ann Surg Oncol 5 (1): 41-7, 1998 Jan-Feb. [PubMed: 9524707]
17. Ferrari A, Miceli R, Meazza C, et al.: Soft tissue sarcomas of childhood and adolescence: the prognostic role of tumor size in relation to patient body size. J Clin Oncol 27 (3): 371-6, 2009. [PubMed: 19064986]

Surgery

Every attempt should be made to resect the primary tumor with negative margins before or after chemotherapy. Involvement of a surgeon with special expertise in the resection of STSs in the decision is highly desirable.

The timing of surgery depends on an assessment of the feasibility and morbidity of surgery. If the initial operation fails to achieve pathologically negative tissue margins or if the initial surgery was done without the knowledge that cancer was present, a re-excision of the affected area should be performed to obtain clear, but not necessarily wide, margins.[1-5] This surgical tenet is true even if no mass is detected by magnetic resonance imaging after initial surgery.[6]; [7][Level of evidence: 3iiA]

Regional lymph node metastases at diagnosis are unusual and appear most likely with epithelioid and clear cell sarcomas.[8] Sentinel lymph node mapping is employed at some centers to identify the regional nodes that are the most likely to be involved, although its widespread contribution to the staging and management of these tumors has yet to be clearly defined.[9-11]

Radiation Therapy

Considerations for radiation therapy are based on the potential for surgery, with or without chemotherapy, to obtain local control without loss of critical organs, or significant functional, cosmetic or psychological impairment. This will vary according to patient variables, including age and gender, and tumor variables, including histopathology, site, size, and grade. Radiation therapy considerations include the same patient and tumor variables, surgical margin status, and expectations for radiation-induced morbidities such as impaired bone or muscle development, organ damage, or second malignancy. Radiation therapy can be given preoperatively or postoperatively, and the radiation field size and dose will again be based on patient and tumor variables and the operability of the tumor.

In general, radiation is indicated for patients with inadequate surgical margins and for larger, high-grade tumors.[12,13] This is particularly important in high-grade tumors with tumor margins smaller than 1 cm.[14,15]; [16][Level of evidence: 3iiDiv] With combined surgery and radiation therapy, local control of the primary tumor can be achieved in more than 80% of patients.[17,18] Preoperative radiation therapy has been associated with excellent local control rates.[19-21] This approach has the advantage of treating smaller tissue volumes because it does not necessitate treating a postsurgical bed; it also has the advantage of somewhat lower radiation doses because relative hypoxia from surgical disruption of vasculature and scarring is not present. Preoperative radiation therapy has been associated with an increased rate of wound complications in adults, primarily in lower extremity tumors, but the degree of this is questionable.[22] Conversely, preoperative radiation therapy may lead to less fibrosis than with postoperative approaches, perhaps due to the smaller treatment volume and dose.[23] Brachytherapy and intraoperative radiation may be applicable in select situations.[18,24,25]; [26][Level of evidence: 3iiiDii] In the recently closed COG-ARST0332 trial, preoperative radiation therapy was recommended for patients who presented with unresected tumor. The use of postoperative radiation therapy for patients who presented after primary resection was dependent on the tumor size, grade, and margin status.

Retroperitoneal sarcomas are a special issue since radiosensitivity of the bowel to injury makes postoperative radiation therapy less desirable. Reasons for this include the postoperative adhesions and bowel immobility that increase the risk of damage from any given radiation dose. This is in contrast to the preoperative approach in which the tumor often displaces bowel outside of the radiation field, and any exposed bowel is more mobile, which decreases exposure to specific bowel segments.

Radiation volume and dose depend on all patient, tumor, and surgical variables as noted above. Considerations include patient age and growth potential, the ability to avoid critical organs, epiphyseal plates, and lymphatics (but not the neurovascular bundles that are relatively radiation tolerant), and the functional/cosmetic outcome. Radiation margins are typically 2 cm to 4 cm longitudinally, and encompassing fascial planes axially. Radiation doses are typically 45 Gy to 50 Gy preoperatively, with consideration for postoperative boost of 10 Gy to 20 Gy if resection margins are microscopically or grossly positive, or planned brachytherapy if the resection is predicted to be subtotal. However, data documenting the efficacy of a postoperative boost are lacking.[27] The postoperative radiation dose is 55 Gy to 60 Gy, or rarely, higher in the situation where unresectable gross residual disease exists.

Chemotherapy

The role of adjuvant (postoperative) chemotherapy remains controversial.[28] A meta-analysis of updated data from adult STS patients from all available randomized trials concluded that recurrence-free survival was better with adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with high-grade tumors larger than 5 cm.[29] The largest prospective pediatric trial failed to demonstrate any benefit with adjuvant vincristine, dactinomycin, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin.[17] In a European trial, adults with completely resected STS were randomly assigned to observation or adjuvant chemotherapy with ifosfamide and doxorubicin. Adjuvant chemotherapy was not associated with improved event-free survival or overall survival. It is difficult to extrapolate this trial to pediatric patients because the trial included (1) a wide variety of histologies; (2) a relatively low dose of ifosfamide; (3) patients assigned to chemotherapy had definitive radiation delayed until completion of chemotherapy; and (4) almost one-half of the patients in the trial had intermediate-grade tumors. In the discussion section, the authors merged their patients with previously published series, including those from the European meta-analysis, and concluded that the results suggested a benefit for adjuvant chemotherapy.[30][Level of evidence: 1iiA]

Special Treatment Considerations for Children With STS

Many therapeutic strategies for children and adolescents with soft tissue tumors are similar to those for adult patients, although there are important differences. For example, the biology of the neoplasm in pediatric patients may differ dramatically from that of the adult lesion. Additionally, limb-sparing procedures are more difficult to perform in pediatric patients. The morbidity associated with radiation therapy, particularly in infants and young children, may be much greater than that observed in adults.[31]

Improved outcomes with multimodality therapy in adults and children with STSs over the past 20 years has caused increasing concern about the potential long-term side effects of this therapy in children, especially when considering the expected longer life span of children versus adults. Therefore, to maximize tumor control and minimize long-term morbidity, treatment must be individualized for children and adolescents with nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STS. These patients should be enrolled in prospective studies that accurately assess any potential complications.[32]

Treatment Options Under Clinical Evaluation

The following is an example of a national and/or institutional clinical trial that is currently being conducted. Information about ongoing clinical trials is available from the NCI website.

• ARST1321 (NCT02180867) (Radiation Therapy With or Without Combination Chemotherapy or Pazopanib Hydrochloride Before Surgery in Treating Patients With Newly Diagnosed Nonrhabdomyosarcoma Soft Tissue Sarcomas That Can be Removed by Surgery [PAZNTIS]): This study will first determine the feasibility of adding a tyrosine kinase inhibitor in combination with radiation or chemotherapy (ifosfamide/etoposide) and radiation in pediatric and adult patients newly diagnosed with unresected intermediate-risk and high-risk nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STS. Subsequently, this trial will compare the rates of near complete pathologic response (>90% necrosis) of: 1) preoperative pazopanib plus chemoradiation versus preoperative chemoradiation alone for potentially resectable (>5 cm), grade 3 intermediate-risk to high-risk chemotherapy-sensitive adult and pediatric nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STS; and 2) pazopanib plus preoperative radiation therapy versus preoperative radiation therapy alone for potentially resectable intermediate-risk to high-risk adult and pediatric nonrhabdomyosarcomatous STS.

References

1. Okcu MF, Despa S, Choroszy M, et al.: Synovial sarcoma in children and adolescents: thirty three years of experience with multimodal therapy. Med Pediatr Oncol 37 (2): 90-6, 2001. [PubMed: 11496345]
2. Sugiura H, Takahashi M, Katagiri H, et al.: Additional wide resection of malignant soft tissue tumors. Clin Orthop (394): 201-10, 2002. [PubMed: 11795735]
3. Cecchetto G, Guglielmi M, Inserra A, et al.: Primary re-excision: the Italian experience in patients with localized soft-tissue sarcomas. Pediatr Surg Int 17 (7): 532-4, 2001. [PubMed: 11666052]
4. Chui CH, Spunt SL, Liu T, et al.: Is reexcision in pediatric nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma necessary after an initial unplanned resection? J Pediatr Surg 37 (10): 1424-9, 2002. [PubMed: 12378447]
5. Paulino AC, Ritchie J, Wen BC: The value of postoperative radiotherapy in childhood nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcoma. Pediatr Blood Cancer 43 (5): 587-93, 2004. [PubMed: 15382277]
6. Kaste SC, Hill A, Conley L, et al.: Magnetic resonance imaging after incomplete resection of soft tissue sarcoma. Clin Orthop (397): 204-11, 2002. [PubMed: 11953612]
7. Chandrasekar CR, Wafa H, Grimer RJ, et al.: The effect of an unplanned excision of a soft-tissue sarcoma on prognosis. J Bone Joint Surg Br 90 (2): 203-8, 2008. [PubMed: 18256089]
8. Daigeler A, Kuhnen C, Moritz R, et al.: Lymph node metastases in soft tissue sarcomas: a single center analysis of 1,597 patients. Langenbecks Arch Surg 394 (2): 321-9, 2009. [PubMed: 18594854]
9. Neville HL, Andrassy RJ, Lally KP, et al.: Lymphatic mapping with sentinel node biopsy in pediatric patients. J Pediatr Surg 35 (6): 961-4, 2000. [PubMed: 10873044]
10. Neville HL, Raney RB, Andrassy RJ, et al.: Multidisciplinary management of pediatric soft-tissue sarcoma. Oncology (Huntingt) 14 (10): 1471-81; discussion 1482-6, 1489-90, 2000. [PubMed: 11098512]
11. Kayton ML, Delgado R, Busam K, et al.: Experience with 31 sentinel lymph node biopsies for sarcomas and carcinomas in pediatric patients. Cancer 112 (9): 2052-9, 2008. [PubMed: 18338809]
12. Marcus KC, Grier HE, Shamberger RC, et al.: Childhood soft tissue sarcoma: a 20-year experience. J Pediatr 131 (4): 603-7, 1997. [PubMed: 9386667]
13. Delaney TF, Kepka L, Goldberg SI, et al.: Radiation therapy for control of soft-tissue sarcomas resected with positive margins. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 67 (5): 1460-9, 2007. [PubMed: 17394945]
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Adipocytic Tumors

Chondro-osseous Tumors

Chondro-osseous tumors include the following tumor subtypes:

• Extraskeletal chondrosarcoma (mesenchymal and other variants).
• Extraskeletal osteosarcoma.

Fibroblastic/Myofibroblastic Tumors

Fibroblastic/myofibroblastic tumors include the following tumor subtypes:

• Desmoid tumor.^a
• Fibrosarcoma.

  -

  Infant fibrosarcoma.

  -

  Adult-type fibrosarcoma.

• Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor.^a
• Low-grade fibromyxoid sarcoma.
• Sclerosing epithelioid fibrosarcoma.

[Note: ^aNot a high-grade tumor.]

Skeletal Muscle Tumors

Smooth Muscle Tumors

So-called Fibrohistiocytic Tumors

So-called fibrohistiocytic tumors include the following tumor subtypes:

• Plexiform fibrohistiocytic tumor.
• Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma/malignant fibrous histiocytoma.

  -

  Giant cell.

  -

  Inflammatory.

  -

  Myxoid/high-grade myxofibrosarcoma.

  -

  Pleomorphic.

Tumors of Peripheral Nerves

Tumors of Uncertain Differentiation

Tumors of uncertain differentiation include the following tumor subtypes:

• Alveolar soft part sarcoma.
• Clear cell sarcoma of soft tissue.
• Desmoplastic small round cell tumor.
• Epithelioid sarcoma.
• Extrarenal rhabdoid tumor.
• Extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma.
• Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET)/extraskeletal Ewing tumor.
• Synovial sarcoma.
• Undifferentiated sarcoma; sarcoma, not otherwise specified (NOS).

Vascular Tumors

Vascular tumors vary from hemangiomas, which are always considered benign, to angiosarcomas, which are highly malignant.[158] Vascular tumors include the following tumor subtypes:

• Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.
• Angiosarcoma (deep).
• Hemangiopericytoma (infantile).

Current Clinical Trials

Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with nonmetastatic childhood soft tissue sarcoma. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.

General information about clinical trials is also available from the NCI website.

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174. Ferrari A, Casanova M, Bisogno G, et al.: Malignant vascular tumors in children and adolescents: a report from the Italian and German Soft Tissue Sarcoma Cooperative Group. Med Pediatr Oncol 39 (2): 109-14, 2002. [PubMed: 12116058]
175. Lahat G, Dhuka AR, Hallevi H, et al.: Angiosarcoma: clinical and molecular insights. Ann Surg 251 (6): 1098-106, 2010. [PubMed: 20485141]
176. Orlando G, Adam R, Mirza D, et al.: Hepatic hemangiosarcoma: an absolute contraindication to liver transplantation--the European Liver Transplant Registry experience. Transplantation 95 (6): 872-7, 2013. [PubMed: 23354302]
177. Bien E, Kazanowska B, Dantonello T, et al.: Factors predicting survival in childhood malignant and intermediate vascular tumors : retrospective analysis of the Polish and German cooperative paediatric soft tissue sarcoma study groups and review of the literature. Ann Surg Oncol 17 (7): 1878-89, 2010. [PubMed: 20333551]
178. Park MS, Ravi V, Araujo DM: Inhibiting the VEGF-VEGFR pathway in angiosarcoma, epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, and hemangiopericytoma/solitary fibrous tumor. Curr Opin Oncol 22 (4): 351-5, 2010. [PubMed: 20485168]
179. Rodriguez-Galindo C, Ramsey K, Jenkins JJ, et al.: Hemangiopericytoma in children and infants. Cancer 88 (1): 198-204, 2000. [PubMed: 10618624]
180. Ferrari A, Casanova M, Bisogno G, et al.: Hemangiopericytoma in pediatric ages: a report from the Italian and German Soft Tissue Sarcoma Cooperative Group. Cancer 92 (10): 2692-8, 2001. [PubMed: 11745205]
181. Bien E, Stachowicz-Stencel T, Godzinski J, et al.: Retrospective multi-institutional study on hemangiopericytoma in Polish children. Pediatr Int 51 (1): 19-24, 2009. [PubMed: 19371273]
182. Weiss SW, Goldblum JR: Enzinger and Weiss's Soft Tissue Tumors. 4th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby, 2001.

Pulmonary Metastases

Children with isolated pulmonary metastases should undergo a surgical procedure in an attempt to resect all gross disease. For patients with multiple or recurrent pulmonary metastases, additional surgical procedures can be performed if the morbidity is deemed acceptable. In a retrospective review, patients with synovial sarcoma and pulmonary metastases for whom it was possible to completely resect all metastatic lung lesions had better survival than did patients for whom it was not possible to achieve complete resections.[9][Level of evidence: 3iiiA] An alternative approach is focused radiation therapy (fractionated stereotactic radiation therapy), which has been successfully used in adults to sterilize lesions. The estimated 5-year survival rate after thoracotomy for pulmonary metastasectomy has ranged from 10% to 58% in adult studies. Emerging data suggest a similar outcome after the administration of focused radiation therapy in adults.[10] Formal segmentectomy, lobectomy, and mediastinal lymph node dissection are unnecessary.[11]

Treatment Options Under Clinical Evaluation

The following agents are being studied for the treatment of certain metastatic STSs:

References

1. Demetri GD, Elias AD: Results of single-agent and combination chemotherapy for advanced soft tissue sarcomas. Implications for decision making in the clinic. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am 9 (4): 765-85, 1995. [PubMed: 7490240]
2. Elias A, Ryan L, Sulkes A, et al.: Response to mesna, doxorubicin, ifosfamide, and dacarbazine in 108 patients with metastatic or unresectable sarcoma and no prior chemotherapy. J Clin Oncol 7 (9): 1208-16, 1989. [PubMed: 2504890]
3. Edmonson JH, Ryan LM, Blum RH, et al.: Randomized comparison of doxorubicin alone versus ifosfamide plus doxorubicin or mitomycin, doxorubicin, and cisplatin against advanced soft tissue sarcomas. J Clin Oncol 11 (7): 1269-75, 1993. [PubMed: 8315424]
4. Rao BN: Nonrhabdomyosarcoma in children: prognostic factors influencing survival. Semin Surg Oncol 9 (6): 524-31, 1993 Nov-Dec. [PubMed: 8284572]
5. deCou JM, Rao BN, Parham DM, et al.: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors: the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital experience. Ann Surg Oncol 2 (6): 524-9, 1995. [PubMed: 8591083]
6. Pappo AS, Rao BN, Jenkins JJ, et al.: Metastatic nonrhabdomyosarcomatous soft-tissue sarcomas in children and adolescents: the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital experience. Med Pediatr Oncol 33 (2): 76-82, 1999. [PubMed: 10398180]
7. Pratt CB, Pappo AS, Gieser P, et al.: Role of adjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of surgically resected pediatric nonrhabdomyosarcomatous soft tissue sarcomas: A Pediatric Oncology Group Study. J Clin Oncol 17 (4): 1219, 1999. [PubMed: 10561182]
8. Pratt CB, Maurer HM, Gieser P, et al.: Treatment of unresectable or metastatic pediatric soft tissue sarcomas with surgery, irradiation, and chemotherapy: a Pediatric Oncology Group study. Med Pediatr Oncol 30 (4): 201-9, 1998. [PubMed: 9473754]
9. Stanelle EJ, Christison-Lagay ER, Wolden SL, et al.: Pulmonary metastasectomy in pediatric/adolescent patients with synovial sarcoma: an institutional review. J Pediatr Surg 48 (4): 757-63, 2013. [PubMed: 23583130]
10. Dhakal S, Corbin KS, Milano MT, et al.: Stereotactic body radiotherapy for pulmonary metastases from soft-tissue sarcomas: excellent local lesion control and improved patient survival. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 82 (2): 940-5, 2012. [PubMed: 21277105]
11. Putnam JB Jr, Roth JA: Surgical treatment for pulmonary metastases from sarcoma. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am 9 (4): 869-87, 1995. [PubMed: 7490246]
12. Stacchiotti S, Negri T, Zaffaroni N, et al.: Sunitinib in advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma: evidence of a direct antitumor effect. Ann Oncol 22 (7): 1682-90, 2011. [PubMed: 21242589]
13. Stacchiotti S, Tamborini E, Marrari A, et al.: Response to sunitinib malate in advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma. Clin Cancer Res 15 (3): 1096-104, 2009. [PubMed: 19188185]
14. Kummar S, Allen D, Monks A, et al.: Cediranib for metastatic alveolar soft part sarcoma. J Clin Oncol 31 (18): 2296-302, 2013. [PMC free article: PMC3677840] [PubMed: 23630200]
15. Stacchiotti S, Negri T, Libertini M, et al.: Sunitinib malate in solitary fibrous tumor (SFT). Ann Oncol 23 (12): 3171-9, 2012. [PubMed: 22711763]
16. Wagner AJ, Malinowska-Kolodziej I, Morgan JA, et al.: Clinical activity of mTOR inhibition with sirolimus in malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumors: targeting the pathogenic activation of mTORC1 in tumors. J Clin Oncol 28 (5): 835-40, 2010. [PMC free article: PMC4810029] [PubMed: 20048174]
17. Butrynski JE, D'Adamo DR, Hornick JL, et al.: Crizotinib in ALK-rearranged inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor. N Engl J Med 363 (18): 1727-33, 2010. [PMC free article: PMC3014292] [PubMed: 20979472]
18. Stacchiotti S, Longhi A, Ferraresi V, et al.: Phase II study of imatinib in advanced chordoma. J Clin Oncol 30 (9): 914-20, 2012. [PubMed: 22331945]
19. Rutkowski P, Van Glabbeke M, Rankin CJ, et al.: Imatinib mesylate in advanced dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: pooled analysis of two phase II clinical trials. J Clin Oncol 28 (10): 1772-9, 2010. [PMC free article: PMC3040044] [PubMed: 20194851]

Current Clinical Trials

Check the list of NCI-supported cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with recurrent childhood soft tissue sarcoma. The list of clinical trials can be further narrowed by location, drug, intervention, and other criteria.

General information about clinical trials is also available from the NCI website.

References

1. Maki RG, Wathen JK, Patel SR, et al.: Randomized phase II study of gemcitabine and docetaxel compared with gemcitabine alone in patients with metastatic soft tissue sarcomas: results of sarcoma alliance for research through collaboration study 002 [corrected]. J Clin Oncol 25 (19): 2755-63, 2007. [PubMed: 17602081]
2. Le Cesne A, Cresta S, Maki RG, et al.: A retrospective analysis of antitumour activity with trabectedin in translocation-related sarcomas. Eur J Cancer 48 (16): 3036-44, 2012. [PubMed: 22749255]
3. Garcia-Carbonero R, Supko JG, Maki RG, et al.: Ecteinascidin-743 (ET-743) for chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced soft tissue sarcomas: multicenter phase II and pharmacokinetic study. J Clin Oncol 23 (24): 5484-92, 2005. [PubMed: 16110008]
4. Garcia-Carbonero R, Supko JG, Manola J, et al.: Phase II and pharmacokinetic study of ecteinascidin 743 in patients with progressive sarcomas of soft tissues refractory to chemotherapy. J Clin Oncol 22 (8): 1480-90, 2004. [PubMed: 15084621]
5. Glade Bender JL, Lee A, Reid JM, et al.: Phase I pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study of pazopanib in children with soft tissue sarcoma and other refractory solid tumors: a children's oncology group phase I consortium report. J Clin Oncol 31 (24): 3034-43, 2013. [PMC free article: PMC3739862] [PubMed: 23857966]
6. van der Graaf WT, Blay JY, Chawla SP, et al.: Pazopanib for metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma (PALETTE): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial. Lancet 379 (9829): 1879-86, 2012. [PubMed: 22595799]
7. Belal A, Salah E, Hajjar W, et al.: Pulmonary metastatectomy for soft tissue sarcomas: is it valuable? J Cardiovasc Surg (Torino) 42 (6): 835-40, 2001. [PubMed: 11698958]
8. Zagars GK, Ballo MT, Pisters PW, et al.: Prognostic factors for disease-specific survival after first relapse of soft-tissue sarcoma: analysis of 402 patients with disease relapse after initial conservative surgery and radiotherapy. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 57 (3): 739-47, 2003. [PubMed: 14529779]
9. Stanelle EJ, Christison-Lagay ER, Wolden SL, et al.: Pulmonary metastasectomy in pediatric/adolescent patients with synovial sarcoma: an institutional review. J Pediatr Surg 48 (4): 757-63, 2013. [PubMed: 23583130]
10. Ferrari A, De Salvo GL, Dall'Igna P, et al.: Salvage rates and prognostic factors after relapse in children and adolescents with initially localised synovial sarcoma. Eur J Cancer 48 (18): 3448-55, 2012. [PubMed: 22835783]
11. Soole F, Maupain C, Defachelles AS, et al.: Synovial sarcoma relapses in children and adolescents: prognostic factors, treatment, and outcome. Pediatr Blood Cancer 61 (8): 1387-93, 2014. [PubMed: 24664883]

Purpose of This Summary

This PDQ cancer information summary for health professionals provides comprehensive, peer-reviewed, evidence-based information about the treatment of childhood soft tissue sarcoma. It is intended as a resource to inform and assist clinicians who care for cancer patients. It does not provide formal guidelines or recommendations for making health care decisions.

Reviewers and Updates

This summary is reviewed regularly and updated as necessary by the PDQ Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board, which is editorially independent of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The summary reflects an independent review of the literature and does not represent a policy statement of NCI or the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Board members review recently published articles each month to determine whether an article should:

• be discussed at a meeting,
• be cited with text, or
• replace or update an existing article that is already cited.

Changes to the summaries are made through a consensus process in which Board members evaluate the strength of the evidence in the published articles and determine how the article should be included in the summary.

The lead reviewers for Childhood Soft Tissue Sarcoma Treatment are:

• Denise Adams, MD (Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center)
• Louis S. Constine, MD (James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at University of Rochester Medical Center)
• Holcombe Edwin Grier, MD (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Boston Children's Hospital)
• Michael P. LaQuaglia, MD (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center)
• Paul A. Meyers, MD (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center)
• Thomas A. Olson, MD (AFLAC Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta - Egleston Campus)
• Alberto S. Pappo, MD (St. Jude Children's Research Hospital)
• R Beverly Raney, MD (Consultant)
• Stephen J. Shochat, MD (St. Jude Children's Research Hospital)

Any comments or questions about the summary content should be submitted to Cancer.gov through the NCI website's Email Us. Do not contact the individual Board Members with questions or comments about the summaries. Board members will not respond to individual inquiries.

Levels of Evidence

Some of the reference citations in this summary are accompanied by a level-of-evidence designation. These designations are intended to help readers assess the strength of the evidence supporting the use of specific interventions or approaches. The PDQ Pediatric Treatment Editorial Board uses a formal evidence ranking system in developing its level-of-evidence designations.

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The preferred citation for this PDQ summary is:

National Cancer Institute: PDQ® Childhood Soft Tissue Sarcoma Treatment. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Date last modified <MM/DD/YYYY>. Available at: http://www.cancer.gov/types/soft-tissue-sarcoma/hp/child-soft-tissue-treatment-pdq. Accessed <MM/DD/YYYY>.

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