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Preoperative Radiotherapy for Retroperitoneal Sarcoma
Untitled Document
Name of the Trial
Phase III Randomized Study of Surgery With or Without Preoperative Radiotherapy
in Patients With Primary Soft Tissue Sarcoma of the Retroperitoneum or Pelvis
(ACOSOG-Z9031). See the protocol
summary.
Principal Investigators
Dr. Peter Pisters and Dr. Brian O'Sullivan, American College of Surgeons Oncology
Group.
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Dr. Peter Pisters
Principal Investigator |
Why Is This Trial Important?
Soft tissue sarcoma is cancer that starts in soft tissues of the body, such
as the muscles, fat, tendons and other fibrous tissues, synovial tissues (tissues
around the joints), and blood and lymph vessels.
Surgery is the primary treatment for patients with localized soft tissue sarcoma.
Often, radiotherapy is used before or after surgery to improve the outcome of
patients with soft tissue sarcoma of the head and neck or in an arm or leg.
However, soft tissue sarcomas may also arise in the retroperitoneum, the narrow
space between the abdominal cavity (which is lined by tissue called the peritoneum)
and the posterior body wall. The retroperitoneum contains organs such as the
kidneys, pancreas, and adrenal glands. The benefits of adding radiotherapy to
surgery for retroperitoneal sarcoma are not clear.
In this trial, researchers are testing whether radiotherapy before surgery
will help patients with retroperitoneal sarcoma survive longer without relapse
of their cancer. Preoperative radiotherapy is thought to be more effective and
less toxic than postoperative radiotherapy for this disease.
"Radiotherapy combined with surgery is the optimal treatment for most
patients with sarcoma in an extremity, but we don't know yet if this combination
is superior to surgery alone for retroperitoneal sarcoma," said Dr. Pisters.
"This trial is designed to definitively answer that question."
Contact Information
This clinical trial is no longer accepting patients. To locate other
clinical trials for soft tissue sarcoma, search
the NCI's database of clinical trials or call the NCI's Cancer Information
Service at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237). The call is toll free and completely
confidential.
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