The previous volumes in this series on soft tissue sarcomas highlighted the importance of the multidisciplinary approach to treatment, and this focus is continued in the present volume. Proper diagnosis and staging remain the cornerstone of the treatment strategy. Sophisticated histopathology tech niques and growing consensus on grading systems have further increased the importance of the histopathologist in providing estimates of patient prognosis as well as in providing data for planning the treatment strategy. The use of cytogenetics in this field is rapidly increasing and might enable the distinction of subgroups in specific histological tumor types. Furthermore, molecular biological studies not only help reveal inherited predispositions and details in tumor oncogenesis, but they may also provide additional predictive factors for tumor behavior. Further data on treatment strategy will be provided by diag nostic imaging, and in this volume the value of PET imaging, a relatively new achievement, is highlighted. As far as the actual treatment is concerned, surgery still provides the major opportunity for cure. The addition of radiotherapy to surgery is of utmost importance in efforts to spare as much tissue as possible. The chapters on the planning of radiotherapy, brachytherapy, and the treatment of benign soft tissue lesions using radiotherapy are new contributions to this book. One of the potential late problems of radiotherapy is the occurrence of secondary soft tissue sarcomas, which is discussed in Chapter 10.

Inhalt

1. Value of Peer Review of Pathology in Soft Tissue Sarcomas.- 2. Cytogenetics of Soft Tissue Tumors.- 3. Molecular Genetics of Soft Tissue Sarcomas.- 4. PET Imaging in Soft Tissue Sarcomas.- 5. Metastasectomy for Soft Tissue Sarcomas.- 6. Post-Treatment Limb Function in Soft Tissue Sarcomas.- 7. Benign and Low-Grade Tumors of the Soft Tissues: Role for Radiation Therapy.- 8. Brachytherapy for Soft Tissue Sarcomas.- 9. Three-Dimensional Planning and Conformal Radiotherapy.- 10. Radiation-Induced Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcomas: Clinical Aspects and Molecular Biology.- 11. Chemotherapy for Metastatic Soft Tissue Sarcomas.- 12. Adjuvant Chemotherapy of Soft Tissue Sarcomas.- 13. Isolated Limb Perfusion with High-Dose Tumor Necrosis Factor-? for Locally Advanced Extremity Soft Tissue Sarcomas.- 14. Soft Tissue Sarcomas in Children.