Are There Types of Extremity Sarcoma Patients for Whom Adjuvant Systemic Chemotherapy Is Indicated?
The role of adjuvant systemic chemotherapy in the treatment of high-grade soft-tissue sarcoma of extremities remains unsettled. Several studies utilizing adjuvant chemotherapy have failed to demonstrate a therapeutic advantage, whereas one study has shown an increase in disease-free and overall survival. The efficacy of adjuvant systemic chemotherapy for high-grade soft-tissue sarcomas remains to be established within the context of prospective clinical trials. Adjuvant systemic chemotherapy as a component of treatment for patients with osteosarcoma has been studied extensively over the past decade. Published reports using historical controls indicate a benefit for drug-treated patients. One published prospective trial, which randomized patients to adjuvant chemotherapy or no chemotherapy, indicated no difference in disease-free and overall survival between drug-treated and observed patients. However, both groups of patients demonstrated better results than the other published studies
