Surgery for soft-tissue sarcomas of the limbs and trunk wall

Soft-tissue sarcoma of the limbs or the trunk wall determine a heterogeneous group of tumours that tends to receive a more individualized approach. The surgeon in charge with soft-tissue sarcoma has to be familiar with these tumours in order to deliver an adequate treatment. Most important is the initial diagnostic procedure, comprising imaging with MRI, a core needle biopsy, and in France, referral to a centre of expertise within the clinical network NETSARC. Prior to surgery, a multidisciplinary conference determines its moment and the extent of surgical resection within the frame of a multidisciplinary approach, and also plans reconstructive surgery, when needed. A standardized operative report summarizes items necessary to describe the resection quality (i.e. tumour seen, tumour infiltrated?). In multidisciplinary staff meetings, they are compared to margins measured by the pathologist on the operative specimen. Hence, resection quality is determined collegially and defined by resection type R (R0, R1, R2) as a qualitative result. The quality of resection directly determines the 5-year risk of local recurrence, estimated between 10 and 20% in specialized centres, with the objective to attain 10%. Early rehabilitation favours better functional outcome. The surgeon's experience with soft-tissue sarcoma, as part of a multidisciplinary treatment, is key in achieving the best adequacy between oncological resection and favourable functional outcome. In France, a specific university course for soft-tissue sarcoma will be set-up.