Trends in the Use of Adjuvant Chemotherapy for High-Grade Truncal and Extremity Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Sarcoma Immunotherapy: Confronting Present Hurdles and Unveiling Upcoming Opportunities

Sarcomas are rare and heterogeneous mesenchymal neoplasms originating from the bone or soft tissues, which pose significant treatment challenges. The current standard treatment for sarcomas consists of surgical resection, often combined with chemo- and radiotherapy; however, local recurrence and metastasis remain significant concerns. Although immunotherapy has demonstrated promise in improving long-term survival rates for certain cancers, sarcomas are generally considered to be relatively less immunogenic than other tumors, presenting substantial challenges for effective immunotherapy. In this review, we examine the possible opportunities for sarcoma immunotherapy, noting cancer testis antigens expressed in sarcomas. We then cover the current status of immunotherapies in sarcomas, including progress in cancer vaccines, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and adoptive cellular therapy and their potential in combating these tumors. Furthermore, we discuss the limitations of immunotherapies in sarcomas, including a low tumor mutation burden and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, and explore potential strategies to tackle the immunosuppressive barriers in therapeutic interventions, shedding light on the development of effective and personalized treatments for sarcomas. Overall, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the current status and potential of immunotherapies in sarcoma treatment, highlighting the challenges and opportunities for developing effective therapies to improve the outcomes of patients with these rare malignancies.

Evaluation of the efficacy of CT-guided 3D template-assisted 125I seed implantation in the treatment of unresectable STS: a multicenter retrospective study

To observe the safety and efficacy of CT-guided 3D template-assisted radioactive ¹²⁵I seed implantation in the treatment of unresectable advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Sixty-two patients who underwent continuous 3D template-assisted radioactive ¹²⁵I seed implantation for the treatment of unresectable advanced STS from August 2017 to August 2018 were selected from four tumor treatment centers for retrospective analysis. The postoperative adverse reactions and tumor response were recorded, and the postoperative complications were observed and treated at the same time. The overall survival (OS) rate was determined. All patients successfully completed ¹²⁵I seed implantation. In practice, the median number of puncture needles used during the operation was 20, and the median number of ¹²⁵I particles was 88. There were no statistical differences in the relative dosimetry parameters before and after the operation (P > 0.05). Tumor evaluation was performed 6 months after the operation. The effective rate was 61.3%, and the local control rate was 93.5%. As of March 2020, the 1-year survival rate was 85.2%, and the 2-year survival rate was 49.0%. The OS was 23 months. CT-guided 3D template-assisted ¹²⁵I seed implantation for the treatment of unresectable STS has a high local control rate, thereby further prolonging the OS of patients with unresectable STS.