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Review
. 2017 Aug;9(8):533-550.
doi: 10.1177/1758834017712963. Epub 2017 Jun 15.

Treatment of advanced, metastatic soft tissue sarcoma: latest evidence and clinical considerations

Gino K In  1 , James S Hu  1 , William W Tseng  2
Affiliations
Review

Treatment of advanced, metastatic soft tissue sarcoma: latest evidence and clinical considerations

Gino K In et al. Ther Adv Med Oncol. 2017 Aug.

Abstract

Soft tissue sarcoma (STS) is a biologically heterogeneous malignancy with over 50 subtypes. Historically, there have been few systemic treatment options for this relatively rare disease. Traditional cytotoxic agents, such as anthracyclines, alkylating agents, and taxanes have limited clinical benefit beyond the first-line setting; across all high-grade STS subtypes, median overall survival remains approximately 12-18 months for advanced metastatic disease. The development of targeted therapies has led to recent US Food and Drug Administration approval of four new treatments for high-grade STS in the advanced metastatic setting. Among these, olaratumab is most notable for its improvement in overall survival for patients with anthracycline-naïve disease. Further progress in STS management will rely on novel trial design, subtype-specific therapies and validation of biomarkers to tailor therapy. Immunotherapy has shown promise as a new, but yet undiscovered frontier in the management of STS.

Keywords: eribulin; high-grade; immunotherapy; metastatic; olaratumab; pazopanib; sarcoma; soft tissue; trabectedin.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: Gino In has no conflict of interests to declare. James Hu is a speaker for Esai Pharmaceuticals. William Tseng has no conflict of interests to declare.

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