Soft tissue sarcoma (STS) is a highly heterogeneous malignant tumor derived from mesenchymal tissue. Advanced STS has a poor response to the current anti-cancer therapeutic options, with a median overall survival of less than two years. Thus, new and more effective treatment methods for STS are needed. Increasing evidence has shown that immunotherapy and radiotherapy have synergistic therapeutic effects against malignant tumors. In addition, immunoradiotherapy has yielded positive results in clinical trials for various cancers. In this review, we discuss the synergistic mechanism of immunoradiotherapy in cancer treatment and the application of this combined regimen for the treatment of several cancers. In addition, we summarize the existing evidence on the use of immunoradiotherapy for the treatment of STS and the relevant clinical trials that are currently ongoing. Furthermore, we identify challenges in the use of immunoradiotherapy for the treatment of sarcomas and propose methods and precautions for overcoming these challenges. Lastly, we propose clinical research strategies and future research directions to help in the research and treatment of STS.

Background: The evidence that albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) is safe and efficacious for the treatment of many types of malignant tumors is continuously increasing. However, the clinical data and evidence of nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS) treatment are rare.Methods: The data of 17 patients with metastatic STS who received nab-paclitaxel/ gemcitabine chemotherapy between January 2019 and February 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were treated with nab-paclitaxel/ gemcitabine only after doxorubicin-based chemotherapy had failed. We evaluated the median progression-free survival (m-PFS), disease control rate (DCR), objective response rate (ORR) and adverse events (AEs) in these patients. Results: The m-PFS was 6 months (95% CI, 2–9 months), ORR was 41.2% and DCR was 70.6%. The average change in target lesion diameter from baseline was -19.06±45.74%. While the majority of the treatment patients experienced grade 1 or 2 AEs, grade 3 or 4 AEs were not common, but included neutropenia (17.6%), fatigue (11.8%), anemia (11.8%), leukopenia (11.8%), nausea (5.9%), peripheral neuropathy (5.9%), diarrhea (5.9%), and thrombocytopenia (5.9%). No treatment-related deaths occurred. Conclusion: Nab-paclitaxel/ gemcitabine combination chemotherapy is comparatively effective in the treatment of STS, demonstrates low toxicity, and is worthy of further study.

Background: The evidence that albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) is safe and efficacious for the treatment of many types of malignant tumors is continuously increasing. However, the clinical data and evidence of nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS) treatment are rare.Methods: The data of 17 patients with metastatic STS who received nab-paclitaxel/ gemcitabine chemotherapy between January 2019 and February 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. All patients were treated with nab-paclitaxel/ gemcitabine only after doxorubicin-based chemotherapy had failed. We evaluated the median progression-free survival (m-PFS), disease control rate (DCR), objective response rate (ORR) and adverse events (AEs) in these patients.Results: The m-PFS was 6 months (95% CI, 2–9 months), ORR was 41.2% and DCR was 70.6%. The average change in target lesion diameter from baseline was -19.06±45.74%. While the majority of the treatment patients experienced grade 1 or 2 AEs, grade 3 or 4 AEs were not common, but included neutropenia (17.6%), fatigue (11.8%), anemia (11.8%), leukopenia (11.8%), nausea (5.9%), peripheral neuropathy (5.9%), diarrhea (5.9%), and thrombocytopenia (5.9%). No treatment-related deaths occurred. Conclusion: Nab-paclitaxel/ gemcitabine combination chemotherapy is comparatively effective in the treatment of STS, demonstrates low toxicity, and is worthy of further study.

Background: The evidence that albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-paclitaxel) is safe and efficacious for the treatment of many types of malignant tumors is continuously increasing. However, the evidence and clinical data of nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in metastatic soft tissue sarcoma (STS) treatment are rare. Methods: The clinical data of metastatic STS patients who received nab-paclitaxel/ gemcitabine chemotherapy between January 2019 and February 2020 were retrospectively analysed. All these patients were treated with nab-paclitaxel/ gemcitabine only after doxorubicin-based chemotherapy had failed. We evaluated the effectiveness and safety of nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in these patients. Results: A total of 17 patients treated with nab-paclitaxel/ gemcitabine were enrolled in this study. 1 patient with angiosarcoma achieved complete response, 6 patients had partial response, 5 patients achieved stable disease, and 5 patients had progressive disease. The average diameter change in target lesion from baseline was -19.06±45.74%. And median progression free survival was 6 months (95% CI, 2–9 months). Grade 3 / 4 adverse events were not common, included neutropenia (17.6%), fatigue (11.8%), anemia (11.8%), leukopenia (11.8%), nausea (5.9%), peripheral neuropathy (5.9%), diarrhea (5.9%), and thrombocytopenia (5.9%). No treatment-related deaths occurred. Conclusion: Nab-paclitaxel/ gemcitabine combination chemotherapy is comparatively effective in the treatment of STS, demonstrates low toxicity, and is worthy of further study.

Background Studies have shown that apatinib is effective for treatment of osteosarcoma. However, pneumothorax is a major adverse event associated with treatment of osteosarcoma with apatinib. This study was performed to investigate pneumothorax characteristics and association with clinical outcomes in patients with osteosarcoma treated with apatinib. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of osteosarcoma patients treated with apatinib between January 2016 and April 2020 at three institutions. We evaluated the prevalence, healing time, recurrence, severity, clinical management, and prognosis of pneumothorax in these patients. Results A total of 54 osteosarcoma patients who received apatinib treatment were enrolled in this study. Among them, 14 patients had pneumothorax. There were significant differences between the patients with and without pneumothorax with regard to the cavitating rate of lung metastases (92.86% vs 32.50%, respectively, p < 0.001), objective response rate (42.86% vs 10.00%, p = 0.013), disease control rate (85.71% vs 42.50%, p = 0.006), 4-month progression-free survival (PFS) rate (57.10% vs 20.00%, p < 0.001), and median PFS (5.65 months vs 2.90 months, p = 0.011). Conclusions Pneumothorax and cavitation in lung metastases may be effective prognostic markers for patients with osteosarcoma treated with apatinib.