SARCOMAS SCOPING REVIEW

Introduction: Soft tissue sarcomas are a heterogeneous and relatively uncommon group of tumors that arise from mesenchymal tissues and form almost anywhere in the body. The mainstay of treatment is surgery; wide excision for low-grade lesions and wide or radical (compartmental) resection for high-grade tumors. Adjuvant preoperative and/or postoperative radiotherapy improves the likelihood of local control and maintains function when adequate margins cannot be achieved. Objective: to detail current information related to sarcomas, description, etiology, epidemiology, presentation, evaluation and treatment. Methodology: a total of 47 articles were analyzed in this review, including review and original articles, as well as clinical cases, of which 32 bibliographies were used because the other articles were not relevant to this study. The sources of information were PubMed, Google Scholar and Cochrane; the terms used to search for information in Spanish, Portuguese and English were: sarcomas, soft tissue tumor, oncologic surgery, cancer, osteosarcomas, brachytherapy, radiotherapy. Results: The rate of progression and the probability of hematogenous spread, usually to the lung, are determined mostly by the grade of the tumor. The probability of regional spread is low. Prognosis is determined by multiple factors, such as: age, tumor size, histologic grade, depth, histologic subtype and site. About 90% and 98% of recurrences are seen between 5 and 10 years, respectively. Overall 5-year survival rates are between 60% and 80%. When combining systemic treatment with chemotherapy and control of the primary tumor by surgery and/or radiation, survival rates for localized disease are between 70% and 75%. In the extremities, they are most frequently found in the proximal limb, with the thigh being the most common site 44% of the time. Conclusions: It is important to know how to recognize, evaluate and adequately treat soft tissue sarcomas, these sometimes represent a challenge, both diagnostically and therapeutically due to their special character, the infrequency of their occurrence and the difficulties in predicting outcomes. A proper differential diagnosis of the pathology must be made in order to better direct management. Developments in imaging, improvements in surgical techniques and complementary treatment methods such as radiotherapy, brachytherapy, among others, have enhanced the treatment of individuals affected with these rare disorders. A diligent preoperative study is required, consisting of an MRI to show the extent of the tumor. The current surgical approach for sarcoma resections consists of a wide en bloc resection. Surgery alone for high-grade sarcomas has a recurrence rate of 33% at 5 years, so adjuvant radiotherapy is recommended. KEY WORDS: sarcomas, tumor, treatment, cancer.