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Soft Tissue Sarcoma — SCE Medical Oncology MCQ

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HardSarcomaSoft Tissue SarcomaSCE Medical Oncology

Core biopsy confirms a 12 cm high-grade primary retroperitoneal undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma without metastases. Specialist review judges an en-bloc macroscopically complete resection feasible. What is the standard curative approach?

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Correct answer: C — Plan histology-tailored en-bloc resection in a high-volume retroperitoneal sarcoma centre

Explanation lettering: E = shown as A · C = shown as B · B = shown as C · A = shown as D · D = shown as E

B is correct. The 2024 UK guideline identifies specialist, macroscopically complete en-bloc resection as the standard curative treatment for primary resectable retroperitoneal sarcoma. Extent is tailored to histological subtype and involved or adjacent organs by a high-volume MDT. Piecemeal or unplanned surgery compromises margins. Preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy is not mandatory for every resectable tumour and is considered selectively by histology, resectability and trial evidence. Pazopanib is an advanced-disease systemic option, while imatinib is molecularly relevant to GIST rather than undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma.

Reference: 2024 UK soft-tissue sarcoma guideline: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11724041/