Wound Complications Related to Radiotherapy Timing in Soft-Tissue Sarcoma NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jul 01 In adults with soft tissue sarcoma of the limbs, the choice of preoperative or postoperative external-beam radiotherapy influences the number of wound-healing complications, according to a report in the June 29th issue of The Lancet. Dr. Brian O'Sullivan of the University of Toronto and colleagues randomly assigned 94 such patients to preoperative radiotherapy (50 Gy in 25 fractions) and 96 to postoperative radiotherapy (66 Gy in 33 fractions). Eighty-eight and 94 patients, respectively, were included in the final analysis. The rate of wound complication within 120 days of surgery, the primary endpoint, was higher in the preoperative than postoperative radiation group, 35% vs 17% (p = 0.01). In multivariate analyses, the size and anatomical site of the tumor emerged as significant risk factors for wound complications. The arms appear to have a lower risk of complications than do the legs, according to the team. Patients in the preoperative radiation group had a slight survival advantage over patients in the postoperative radiation group (p = 0.0481). But the authors urge caution in interpreting this finding because the study was not designed to detect survival differences and because the excess deaths in the postoperative group did not seem to be related to sarcoma progression alone. Dr. O'Sullivan's team concludes that decisions about the timing of radiotherapy in patients with sarcoma of the limbs should be made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account, among other things, tumor size and anatomical site. Lancet 2002;359:2235-2241. Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.