Treatments for stages 2 and 3 soft tissue sarcoma

The following are treatment options for stages 2 and 3 (localized and high-grade) soft tissue sarcoma. Your healthcare team will suggest treatments based on your needs and work with you to develop a treatment plan.

Surgery is a standard treatment for stages 2 and 3 soft tissue sarcoma.

The main goal of surgery is to remove the whole tumour along with some normal tissue around it (called the surgical margin). A wide excision is done to remove the tumour and a small amount of the surgical margin. Doctors may use other terms for wide excision, such as en bloc resection or wide resection.

Limb-sparing surgery is often used to remove tumours in an arm or a leg. During limb-sparing surgery, surgeons do a wide excision to remove the tumour without amputating the limb.

Sometimes another surgery is done to remove more tissue if there are still cancer cells found around the tumour or there wasn’t enough normal tissue removed.

Amputation may be done to remove part or all of an arm or a leg. This is done if the cancer cannot be completely removed with limb-sparing surgery.

Find out more about surgery for soft tissue sarcoma.

Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays or particles to destroy cancer cells.

External radiation therapy is usually offered for stage 2 and stage 3 soft tissue sarcomas. It may be given before surgery to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Sometimes, radiation therapy may be given after surgery if there are still cancer cells found around the tumour (called a positive surgical margin).

If surgery can’t be done, radiation therapy may be used alone or with chemotherapy (called chemoradiation). Sometimes this treatment can make surgery possible.

Find out more about radiation therapy for soft tissue sarcoma.

Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy cancer cells.

You may be offered chemotherapy for stage 2 and stage 3 soft tissue sarcomas. It may be given before surgery to help shrink a tumour and make it easier to remove. It can also be given after surgery for certain high risk types. If surgery can’t be done, chemotherapy may be given at the same time as radiation therapy (called chemoradiation). Sometimes having chemoradiation can make surgery possible.

Chemotherapy may be given to destroy cancer cells left behind after surgery to reduce the risk that the cancer will come back (recur).

Doxorubicin is the standard chemotherapy drug used. Itʼs often used alone, but it may be given in combination with ifosfamide. Other chemotherapy drugs can be used if the standard drug doesn’t work.

Find out more about chemotherapy for soft tissue sarcoma.

Talk to your doctor about clinical trials open to people in Canada with soft tissue sarcoma. Clinical trials look at new ways to prevent, find and treat cancer. Find out more about clinical trials.