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Innovative Strategies and Techniques in Diagnosing, Treating and Surveying Soft...
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Innovative Strategies and Techniques in Diagnosing, Treating and Surveying Soft Tissue Sarcomas

A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Therapy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2025) | Viewed by 2557

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. H. Thomas Temple

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Sarcoma Biology Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedics, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL 33136, USA
Interests: soft tissue tumor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Although soft tissue sarcomas are rare, if properly and expeditiously diagnosed and treated, survival is improved. This Special Issue will focus on new and innovative and combined strategies and techniques in diagnosing and treating soft tissue sarcomas in adults and children. While open biopsy has been the “standard of care” in diagnosing soft tissue sarcomas, other biopsy techniques and the role of exosomes and molecular markers in diagnosing and characterizing sarcomas are prescient and should be brought into clearer focus. Radiomics and T1 mapping hold promise in diagnosing and directing therapy. Molecular pathology is sometimes helpful in characterizing tumors when standard histology and immunochemistry are equivocal. Certain molecular signatures define tumors that lack a common diagnostic moniker and require further investigations to help direct therapy. New radiotherapeutic strategies and techniques, alone or combined with targeted systemic strategies, are also gaining momentum and provide exciting departures from standard radiotherapeutics and conventional chemotherapy. Other important issues are late effects of therapy, surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, as well as quality of life issues in long-term survivors.

This Special Issue aims to highlight and demonstrate new methods and strategies to diagnose and treat soft tissue sarcomas in children and adults.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include new or established methods and strategies that are novel in diagnosing, treating, and surveying soft tissue sarcomas in children and adults.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. H. Thomas Temple, MD
Professor, Orthopaedics and Pathology
Sarcoma Site Group Manager—Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Miami, FL

Prof. Dr. H. Thomas Temple
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sarcoma
  • soft tissue
  • pediatric
  • adult
  • biopsy
  • radiography
  • pathology
  • radiotherapy
  • surgery
  • molecular

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Review

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15 pages, 6444 KB  
Review
Radiomics in Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Toward Precision Imaging in Oncology
by Anuj Shah, Francesco Alessandrino, Emanuela Palmerini, Domenika Ortiz Requena, Brooke Crawford and Ty K. Subhawong
Cancers 2025, 17(22), 3661; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17223661 - 14 Nov 2025
Viewed by 761
Abstract
Radiomics entails a data-driven approach to imaging with a wide array of potential uses in characterizing soft tissue sarcomas, enabling extraction of quantitative features from routine clinical CT and MRI examinations. These features—encompassing descriptors of size, shape, and internal heterogeneity—can improve diagnostic accuracy, [...] Read more.
Radiomics entails a data-driven approach to imaging with a wide array of potential uses in characterizing soft tissue sarcomas, enabling extraction of quantitative features from routine clinical CT and MRI examinations. These features—encompassing descriptors of size, shape, and internal heterogeneity—can improve diagnostic accuracy, tumor grading, and treatment response assessment. Radiomics has shown promise in distinguishing benign from malignant lesions, subtyping sarcomas, and predicting metastatic potential. In particular, models integrating radiomic data with clinical variables have demonstrated performance comparable to expert radiologists in challenging diagnostic scenarios. Machine learning enhances radiomics by automating feature selection and improving predictive modeling. Despite its potential, challenges remain in standardizing imaging protocols, ensuring reproducibility, and integrating radiomics into clinical workflows. Multi-institutional collaboration is essential for broader model validation and clinical integration. By leveraging specific radiomics features as novel quantitative imaging biomarkers, radiomics can drive precision oncology in sarcoma, supporting tailored therapies and improving prognostic accuracy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Strategies and Techniques in Diagnosing, Treating and Surveying Soft Tissue Sarcomas)
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19 pages, 1136 KB  
Review
Functional Assays to Guide Personalized Oncological Treatment of Patients with Soft-Tissue Sarcomas
by Sude Yarar and Panagiotis Tsagkozis
Cancers 2025, 17(21), 3452; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17213452 - 28 Oct 2025
Viewed by 591
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are rare tumors arising from mesenchymal tissues, comprising over 100 distinct histological subtypes with varying biological behaviors, metastatic patterns, and treatment responses Despite advances in multimodal therapy, the overall survival of patients with metastatic STS is poor, [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are rare tumors arising from mesenchymal tissues, comprising over 100 distinct histological subtypes with varying biological behaviors, metastatic patterns, and treatment responses Despite advances in multimodal therapy, the overall survival of patients with metastatic STS is poor, mainly due to the weak response to conventional chemotherapy based on doxorubicin and ifosfamide. Methods: This review examines the evolution from traditional one-size-fits-all treatments to personalized medicine strategies, primarily focusing on assays based on patient-derived tumor samples, and it highlights their emerging role in guiding personalized treatment decisions and improving clinical outcomes in STS. These approaches, also known as functional precision oncology, are a step closer to the clinical situation as compared to other personalized therapies that rely on the identification of targetable genomic alterations using high-throughput technologies such as whole-genome sequencing, which have thus far failed to show convincing responses in STS treatment. Results: The main functional precision oncology platforms tested in patients with STS are in vitro cell viability tests, organoid cultures, and patient-derived xenografts. Each has advantages and limitations. In this context, in vitro drug sensitivity using cell suspension or organoids has shown a strong correlation with clinical responses. Furthermore, organoids matched the original tumor histology and microenvironment to a satisfactory degree. Establishment of xenografts proved feasible in the majority of patients; the technique could also preserve the tumor architecture and displayed high physiological relevance to the clinical situation. Conclusions: Although a major clinical study directly comparing conventional chemotherapy to personalized treatment guided by functional assays is yet to be published, this approach has gained popularity given the low efficacy of personalized medicine based on genetic alterations. The results thus far show promise for a better outcome for patients with metastatic STS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Strategies and Techniques in Diagnosing, Treating and Surveying Soft Tissue Sarcomas)
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Other

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13 pages, 451 KB  
Systematic Review
Evaluation of Treatment Modalities and Oncologic Outcomes in Hand Soft Tissue Sarcomas—A Systematic Review of the Literature
by W. Rodrigo Calmet Rocca, Rayna S. Kuthiala, Marcos R. Gonzalez and Juan Pretell-Mazzini
Cancers 2025, 17(19), 3204; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers17193204 - 1 Oct 2025
Viewed by 903
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) of the hand are rare, representing only 2% of all STS. The small size and benign appearance of these tumors often lead to unplanned excisions and diagnostic delay. This systematic review sought to characterize the clinical presentation, histology, [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Soft tissue sarcomas (STS) of the hand are rare, representing only 2% of all STS. The small size and benign appearance of these tumors often lead to unplanned excisions and diagnostic delay. This systematic review sought to characterize the clinical presentation, histology, treatment modalities, and oncological outcomes of hand STS. Methods: A systematic review of PubMed and Embase was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. The protocol was registered on PROSPERO. We included studies with ≥10 patients with STS that provided data on treatment options and oncologic outcomes. Data was extracted regarding demographics, tumor features, treatment modalities, and survival metrics. Results: Eighteen studies comprising 570 patients were included. Most tumors were <5 cm, and 56.8% were deep (subfascial). Epithelioid and synovial sarcomas were the most common histologies, accounting for 27% and 17% of cases, respectively. UEs were seen in 57% of cases, and 26% of patients required amputation. Positive surgical margins were reported in 16% of patients. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy were used in 40% and 17% of patients, respectively. Twelve and 15% of patients developed regional lymph node and distant metastases, respectively. Local recurrence occurred in 20% of cases. Five- and ten-year overall survival were 80% and 77%, respectively. Disease-free survival at those time points were 77% and 74%, respectively. Conclusions: Hand STSs are challenging due to their rarity, small size, and high rates of UEs. Despite favorable survival rates, local recurrence and metastases remain a concern. Early referral to specialized centers and individualized treatment strategies are essential for improving outcomes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovative Strategies and Techniques in Diagnosing, Treating and Surveying Soft Tissue Sarcomas)
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