Dr. Lawrenz on Patient Feedback of Preoperative 5-Fraction RT Sarcoma Study

Joshua M. Lawrenz, MD, a fellow in musculoskeletal oncology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discusses patient feedback of a study on preoperative 5-fraction radiation therapy for soft tissue sarcoma with immediate resection.

Results showed that the early wound complication and toxicity rate from patients with soft tissue sarcoma is of an equivalent rate to that of conventional fractionated therapy.The study cannot speak to local recurrence or local control, but results show that these patients are tolerating high fractionated radiotherapy.

The patient feedback is that it is more convenient—about 50% of the cohort lived out-of-state and had to travel to the Cleveland Clinic. Often, with conventional radiotherapy, which is 25 days over a 5 week period, patients must drive to and from the clinic. In this setting, when patients are from out-of-state it is easier for them to visit the Cleveland Clinic for 2 weeks to receive radiotherapy during week 1 and then surgery week 2 than a more travel-intensive treatment approach.