Dear Colleagues,

Soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) are a heterogenous group of rare mesenchymal malignancies, comprising over 100 histologic subtypes. STSs have a wide variation in their genetic abnormalities, pathogenesis, and clinical outcomes. Diagnosis of STSs includes a combination of clinical examination, tumor biopsy for histopathological confirmation and radiological imaging. Despite enhanced understanding of disease pathogenesis and the emergence of new molecular diagnostic tools, the prognosis of patients with STSs has remained largely unchanged since the use of multi-agent chemotherapy, with a median survival of only 18 months for patients presenting with metastatic disease. Therefore, identifying new biological drivers through novel “omic” studies, tumor cell models, animal models, or patient-derived xenograft models that contribute to our understanding of tumor progression and metastasis of STSs is required to develop improved systemic treatments. 

This Special Issue aims to focus on the identification of factors contributing to STS metastasis, new therapeutic targets and new STSs molecular diagnostic tools and provide an update on the current state of management of STS. Both original research papers and review articles relevant to this topic are welcomed.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Identification and implication of new diagnostic molecular technologies, including predictive and prognostic biomarkers;
• Novel or improved biopsy and imaging techniques, including molecular imaging;
• Mechanisms that drive metastasis (i.e., chemoresistance and radioresistance) in STSs;
• Translational studies or reviews which highlight or provide rationale for novel therapeutics in STS;
• Review articles that provide an overview of novel insights into the relevant findings in the research aspects listed above.

Dr. Amal M. El-Naggar
Dr. Michael Lizardo
Dr. Alannah Smrke
Guest Editors

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 short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Diagnostics 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 2600 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.

• STSs
• simple and complex karyotypic defects
• metastasis
• adult and pediatric STSs
• management
• molecular diagnostic tools
• biomarkers