Interstitial Brachytherapy for Soft Tissue Sarcoma of Extremity - Preliminary Report-

Abstract

Between May 1995 and May 1996, six patients with either soft tissue sarcoma or aggressive fibromatosis underwent wide-margin resection with limb-sparing surgery and radiotherapy including interstitial implant or brachytherapy. Brachytherapy consisted of high dose rate, Iridium-192 implant which delivered 400-1200 cGy with 200cGy/fraction, twice a day, starting on 6th day after surgery. Four weeks after surgery, total dose of up to 50-55 Gy was delivered to the tumor bed with wide margin by the external beam radiotherapy. The combination of conservative surgery, high dose rate brachytherapy using Iridium-192, and external beam radiotherapy offers the preserving of limb function with less acute and chronic morbidity for the patients with soft tissue sarcoma of extremities.