BACKGROUND: This study sought to determine if preoperative image‐guided intensity‐modulated radiotherapy (IG‐IMRT) can reduce morbidity, including wound complications, by minimizing dose to uninvolved tissues in adults with lower extremity soft tissue sarcoma. METHODS: The primary endpoint was the development of an acute wound complication (WC). IG‐IMRT was used to conform volumes to avoid normal tissues (skin flaps for wound closure, bone, or other uninvolved soft tissues). From July 2005 to June 2009, 70 adults were enrolled; 59 were evaluable for the primary endpoint. Median tumor size was 9.5 cm; 55 tumors (93%) were high‐grade and 58 (98%) were deep to fascia. RESULTS: Eighteen (30.5%) patients developed WCs. This was not statistically significantly different from the result of the National Cancer Institute of Canada SR2 trial (P = .2); however, primary closure technique was possible more often (55 of 59 patients [93.2%] versus 50 of 70 patients [71.4%]; P = .002), and secondary operations for WCs were somewhat reduced (6 of 18 patients [33%] versus 13 of 30 patients [43%]; P = .55). Moderate edema, skin, subcutaneous, and joint toxicity was present in 6 (11.1%), 1 (1.9%), 5 (9.3%), and 3 (5.6%) patients, respectively, but there were no bone fractures. Four local recurrences (6.8%, none near the flaps) occurred with median follow‐up of 49 months. CONCLUSIONS: The 30.5% incidence of WCs was numerically lower than the 43% risk derived from the National Cancer Institute of Canada SR2 trial, but did not reach statistical significance. Preoperative IG‐IMRT significantly diminished the need for tissue transfer. RT chronic morbidities and the need for subsequent secondary operations for WCs were lowered, although not significantly, whereas good limb function was maintained. Cancer 2013. © 2013 American Cancer Society.

BACKGROUND: Radiation-induced soft tissue sarcomas (RI-STS) are rare, and it is believed that they are associated with a poor prognosis. The authors of this report compared the clinical and functional outcomes of adults who had extremity RI-STS with the outcomes of adults with sporadic STS. METHODS: Forty-four patients who were diagnosed with RI-STS from 1989 to 2009 were identified from 4 prospectively collected databases. Patient demographics, surgical and adjuvant treatment parameters, and oncologic and functional outcomes were evaluated. RESULTS: The median latent period from irradiation of the primary condition to RI-STS diagnosis was 16 years. The median radiotherapy dose used for the index condition was 45 gray. The median age at RI-STS diagnosis was 56 years. The most common primary diagnoses were breast cancer (36.4%) and lymphoma (34.1%). The most common RI-STS histologies were malignant fibrous histiocytoma (36.4%) and angiosarcoma (18.2%). Forty-two patients underwent surgery, 13 patients received adjuvant radiotherapy, and 8 patients received adjuvant chemotherapy. Systemic metastases occurred in 50% of treated patients (n ¼ 21), and 26% (n ¼ 11) developed local recurrence, the risk of which was lower among patients who received reirradiation (P ¼ .043). The 5-year disease-free interval (DFI) and overall survival (OS) rates for patients with RI-STS who presented without metastasis were 36% and 44%, respectively. Patients who had International Union Against Cancer TNM stage III RI-STS had a significantly worse DFI compared with patients who had stage III sporadic STS (multivariate analysis, P ¼ .051). Eighteen patients with RI-STS underwent functional assessment after surgery, and their results were comparable to those of patients with sporadic STS. CONCLUSIONS: Despite aggressive surgical treatment, patients who have RI-STS remain at greater risk of both local and systemic recurrence compared with patients who have sporadic STS, but they can anticipate similar functional outcomes. Reirradiation can be relatively safe and effective if used properly. Cancer 2012;118:2682-

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Soft-tissue sarcomas (STS) are a rare group of malignant tumors which can affect any age group. For the majority of patients who present with a localized STS, treatment involves a multidisciplinary team decision-making approach ultimately relying on surgical resection with or without adjuvant radiation for successful limb salvage. The goals of treatment are to provide the patient with a functional extremity without local tumor relapse. The purpose of this article is to review the treatment of extremity STS, with a focus on staging, treatment options, and outcomes.

The combination of radiotherapy (RT) and function-preserving surgery is the most usual contemporary approach in the management of soft tissue sarcomas (STS). Pre- and postoperative RT result in similar local control rates, as shown by a landmark trial in extremity STS. In this review, the role of RT in the management of extremity STS will be discussed, but STS in other sites, including retroperitoneal STS, will also be addressed. The focus will consider various aspects of RT including strategies to reduce the volume of tissue being irradiated, dose, scheduling, and the possible of omission of RT in selected cases. Finally, technology advances through the use of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), image-guided IMRT, intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) and particle therapy will also be discussed.

The time interval between preoperative RT and surgical excision in extremity STS had minimal influence on the development of WCs. Four- or 5-week intervals showed equivalent complication rates between the two groups, suggesting an optimal interval to reduce potential WCs.

We have developed a method to register and display 3D parametric data, in particular radiation dose, on two-dimensional endoscopic images. This registration of radiation dose to endoscopic or optical imaging may be valuable in assessment of normal tissue response to radiation, and visualization of radiated tissues in patients receiving post-radiation surgery. Electromagnetic sensors embedded in a flexible endoscope were used to track the position and orientation of the endoscope allowing registration of 2D endoscopic images to CT volumetric images and radiation doses planned with respect to these images. A surface was rendered from the CT image based on the air/tissue threshold, creating a virtual endoscopic view analogous to the real endoscopic view. Radiation dose at the surface or at known depth below the surface was assigned to each segment of the virtual surface. Dose could be displayed as either a colorwash on this surface or surface isodose lines. By assigning transparency levels to each surface segment based on dose or isoline location, the virtual dose display was overlaid onto the real endoscope image. Spatial accuracy of the dose display was tested using a cylindrical phantom with a treatment plan created for the phantom that matched dose levels with grid lines on the phantom surface. The accuracy of the dose display in these phantoms was 0.8-0.99 mm. To demonstrate clinical feasibility of this approach, the dose display was also tested on clinical data of a patient with laryngeal cancer treated with radiation therapy, with estimated display accuracy of ∼2-3 mm. The utility of the dose display for registration of radiation dose information to the surgical field was further demonstrated in a mock sarcoma case using a leg phantom. With direct overlay of radiation dose on endoscopic imaging, tissue toxicities and tumor response in endoluminal organs can be directly correlated with the actual tissue dose, offering a more nuanced assessment of normal tissue toxicities following radiation therapy and accurate registration of radiation dose to the surgical field.

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