Use of chemotherapy for patients with bone and soft-tissue sarcomas

Abstract

For patients with bone sarcomas, chemotherapy has a proven role in the primary therapy of osteogenic sarcoma and Ewing sarcoma but no role for chondrosarcoma. Chemotherapy's role is currently more limited for patients with soft-tissue sarcomas, as it is generally used to palliate metastatic disease in most subtypes of soft-tissue sarcoma and remains largely investigational in the treat-ment of operable disease. The chemotherapy regimens for musculoskeletal sarcomas often carry significant potential toxicities, so the efficacy of less intensive and less toxic regimens is a focus of ongoing research.