New chemotherapeutic strategies for soft tissue sarcomas

Advanced soft-tissue sarcomas are still incurable in the vast majority of patients. The currently available standard methods of treatment such as surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy have a very modest impact on the natural history of advanced soft tissue sarcomas. Nevertheless, until new strategies become widely available and applicable to this disease, we are obligated to optimize the current resources and make the best use of these modalities. We discuss the approaches of standard chemotherapy used in a dose-intensive fashion (especially in high-risk patients at an earlier stage), attempts to find new drugs with activity in this disease, and tests of the concepts of anti-angiogenic and differentiation therapy. To improve cure rates, patients and physicians must be encouraged to participate in multidisciplinary clinical trials.