Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Modern pathological evaluation of soft tissue sarcoma specimens and its potential role in soft tissue sarcoma research

  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Oncology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Opinion statement

The vast majority of soft tissue tumors (STT), especially sarcomas, should be examined according to a national standard for pathologic evaluation, including a national consensus on a grading system and elements of a synoptic pathology report. The margins should be separated into fascial margins and other surgically cut margins. If questions about the diagnosis arise, a second opinion should be sought from an expert in sarcoma pathology. Whenever possible, tissue should be frozen for potential molecular diagnosis and additional tissue banked for research. Finally, there is a need for a national registry for rare sarcoma types.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References and Recommended Reading

  1. Flugstad DL, Wilke CP, McNutt MA, et al.: Importance of surgical resection in the successful management of soft-tissue sarcoma. Arch Surg 1999, 134:856–861.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Gerrand CH, Wunder JS, Kandel RA, et al.:Classification of positive margins after resection of soft-tissue sarcoma of the limb predicts the risk of local recurrence. J Bone Joint Surg 2001, 83B:1149–1155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Lewis JJ, Leung D, Casper ES, et al.: Multifactorial analysis of long-term follow-up (more than 5 years) of primary extremity sarcoma. Arch Surg 1999, 134:190–194.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Reintgen DS, Karl R, Copeland EM, III, Lewis JJ: Effect of reresection in extremity soft-tissue sarcoma [discussion]. Ann Surg 2000, 231:661–663.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Stojadinovic A, Leung DHY, Hoos A, et al.: Analysis of the prognostic significance of microscopic margins in 2,084 localized primary adult soft-tissue sarcomas. Ann Surg 2002, 235:424–434.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Trovik CS, Bauer HCF, Alvegård TA, et al.: Surgical margins, local recurrence and metastasis in soft-tissue sarcomas: 559 surgically-treated patients from the Scandinavian Sarcoma Group Register. Eur J Cancer [A] 2000, 36:710–716.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Oliveira AM, Nascimento AG: Grading in soft-tissue tumors: principles and problems. Skeletal Radiol 2001, 30:543–559.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Coindre JM, Terrier P, Guillou L, et al.: Predictive value of grade for metastasis development in the main histologic types of adult soft-tissue sarcomas: a study of 1240 patients from the French Federation of Cancer Centers Sarcoma Group. Cancer 2001, 91:1914–1926. The French grading system (from the FNCLCC) has gained increasing acceptance, and may be one adopted by a consensus in this country. In this study, the issue of whether their grade was applicable across all histologic types was addressed, using multivariate analysis in a very large series of 1240 cases; they showed that, with the exception of malignant nerve sheath tumors, the grade was an independent prognostic factor for the development of metastases.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Fletcher C, Kempson RL, Weiss SW, Assoc Directors Anatom Surg Pathol: Recommendations for reporting soft-tissue sarcomas. Am J Clin Pathol 1999, 111:594–598. The result of work by a committee of the nation’s leaders in surgical pathology, this article describes in detail the necessary elements of a pathology report for a sarcoma diagnosis; this conservative view is the basis for a national standard.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Grizzle W, Grody WW, Noll WW, et al.: Recommended policies for uses of human tissue in research, education, and quality control. Arch Pathol Lab Med 1999, 123:296–300.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Pakilit AT, Kahn BA, Petersen L, et al.: Making effective use of tumor registries for cancer survivorship research. Cancer 2001, 92:1305–1314.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zhang, P., Brooks, J.S.J. Modern pathological evaluation of soft tissue sarcoma specimens and its potential role in soft tissue sarcoma research. Curr. Treat. Options in Oncol. 5, 441–450 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11864-004-0033-3

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11864-004-0033-3

Keywords

Navigation