Philosophy of treatment and the role of chemotherapy in paediatric soft tissue sarcoma

Although overall survival rates for children with soft tissue sarcoma have improved, progress for some sub-groups of patients has been less encouraging than might be expected. Priorities for the future include the better identification of patients who can be cured with minimal therapy and better treatment for those who have a poor outcome with current therapy. Improved understanding of the biology of this group of tumours may provide opportunities to utilise some of the more recently designed novel forms of therapy aimed at molecular targets. Although considerable amounts of valuable clinical data have been acquired through clinical trials in patients with RMS, further efforts to systematically explore therapy in children with non-RMS soft tissue sarcoma are now required and there are opportunities for adult-paediatric collaboration in designing new approaches to therapy.