Our Approach & Expertise

Our Team of Experts For the best outcomes, soft tissue sarcoma requires interdisciplinary care more

Team members provide state-of-the-art diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation to patients, even as they add continually to a database that has been tracking soft tissue sarcoma patients since 1982. The more than 5,000 patients admitted and treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in that time and continuously followed have made this the largest dedicated single-institution database for soft tissue sarcoma anywhere: our doctors generate more than half of the world's research publications on this disease. One important advantage of this database is the knowledge gained to predict outcome, and to help each patient minimize excessive surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. For patients with a diagnosis of soft tissue sarcoma, which has more than 50 separate sub-types, it is important to be treated at a center that has experience with all of the forms of this rare disease.

Our Publications Visit PubMed for our journal articles go

The key to any successful treatment is correct diagnosis. Our researchers have pioneered the molecular and genetic diagnosis of many sarcoma subtypes and are leading the search for genetic markers that may help determine the aggressiveness of tumors and their potential response to treatment. Our diagnostic team changes the diagnosis for up to 15 percent of soft tissue sarcoma tumor biopsy samples submitted to Memorial Sloan-Kettering for second review from other hospitals.

The Leading Edge of Surgical Expertise

Not long ago, amputation of an arm or leg was the standard treatment for soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities. Today, treatment approaches pioneered at Memorial Sloan-Kettering feature more conservative operations, combined with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy, which offer patients a high rate of tumor control without amputation. Each year, our surgical team operates on approximately 350 patients with soft tissue sarcoma.

Pinpoint Accuracy in Radiation Therapy

Memorial Sloan-Kettering has been a leader in developing brachytherapy (localized radiation therapy) approaches for soft tissue sarcomas. One technique is to deliver radiation therapy at the end of the operation by placing a special applicator against the surface from which the tumor has just been removed. Another approach is to deliver the radiotherapy via implantable catheters placed at the tumor site during the operation. These catheters are loaded with radioactive seeds after the operation and removed several days later. Both these methods spare healthy surrounding tissue from radiation by precisely pinpointing the treatment site.

Our Clinical Trials Find out about new research studies more

Memorial Sloan-Kettering is at the forefront of new treatments for soft tissue sarcoma because of our large number of clinical trials for these tumors.

Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering are continuing to study improved methods of sarcoma therapy. In the laboratory, our physicians and researchers are investigating new types of adjuvant (additional) treatments. Many other novel therapies and approaches are being performed by Memorial Sloan-Kettering physicians in efforts to improve the cure of sarcoma patients.

Sarcoma Postoperative Calculator Predicts survival for patients who are no more than six months past their survey more

Memorial Sloan-Kettering researchers have developed a computerized statistical program, or nomogram, to help doctors more accurately predict outcomes on an individual basis, allowing doctors and patients to better design treatment and ensure that those sarcoma survivors who are at greatest risk of recurrence and metastases can be more aggressively treated, while those at low risk can avoid unnecessary additional treatment.