Sarcoma Program

Your personalized treatment plan starts with a detailed diagnosis. Your doctor carefully evaluates your symptoms and medical history and orders one or more tests. If you have previous test results, we review them and may recommend additional testing.

Stanford Health Care has a wide range of diagnostic tools available. Our specialists in medical imaging (radiology) and tissue analysis (pathology) work closely with your doctor to accurately diagnose your condition so you can start treatment right away.

The tests we use to diagnose sarcoma include:

• Blood tests: Sarcomas can cause changes that appear in your blood. Lab tests can help your doctor evaluate the cancer and your overall health.  
• Advanced imaging: We use imaging studies such as X-rays, ultrasounds, and PET, CT, and MRI scans to evaluate the size and location of sarcomas. Your doctor may also recommend a bone scan to find out if the cancer has spread beyond the original tumor location.
• Biopsy: If your exam or imaging identifies a possible sarcoma, you will need a biopsy. During this procedure, your doctor collects a small amount of bone or soft tissue. A pathologist looks at the tissue under a microscope for cancerous cells.
• Genetic testing: Some types of sarcoma are inherited. If you have a sarcoma, your doctor may recommend genetic testing. These tests can show whether you have inherited gene changes (mutations) that might increase your family’s risk of developing sarcoma. 

Surgery is often the first treatment for many types of sarcoma. Our goal is to remove as much of the tumor as possible while preserving healthy tissue.

In the past, doctors often had to amputate a limb to treat large sarcomas. Today, new techniques allow surgeons to spare the limb in most cases. 

We frequently combine surgery with other treatments, such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy.

We use many types of oral or intravenous (IV) medications to destroy cancer cells or slow their growth. Your treatment options depend on the type of sarcoma and may include one or a combination of medications, including: 

• Car T-Cell Therapy
• Chemotherapy
• Immunotherapy
• Targeted therapy

Stanford Health Care researchers are actively developing new forms of targeted therapy for sarcoma. Targeted therapy agents recognize specific molecules on cancer cells and attack those cells but leave noncancerous cells alone. Talk to your doctor to find out if you are eligible to participate in one of our targeted therapy clinical research trials.

Radiation therapy uses high-energy X-rays to damage or destroy cancer cells. Radiation therapy can come from an inside (internal) or outside (external) source.

Internal radiation therapy (brachytherapy) uses small radioactive beads that doctors surgically place inside or next to the tumor.

With external radiation therapy, our radiation oncologists deliver controlled radiation beams to tumors while avoiding surrounding healthy tissues. We use several types of external radiation therapy to treat sarcomas, including:

• 3D conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT)
• Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT)
• Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT)
• Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR/SBRT)  

Our interventional radiologists deliver cancer treatment directly to the tumor using minimally invasive procedures. The types of interventional radiology treatments we use for sarcomas include:

• Magnetic resonance guided high-intensity focused ultrasound (MRgHIFU)
• Tumor ablation
• Chemoembolization
• Radioembolization

Some cancers have a distinct genetic profile. Our experienced cancer geneticists can identify a tumor’s unique biomarkers, including genes, proteins, and other substances. Biomarkers help doctors identify tumors and match a treatment that will be most effective.

At Stanford Health Care, you receive support beyond your medical needs. We’re here to help you and your loved ones emotionally, spiritually, and socially. Our Circle of Care services are designed to ease your stress so you can focus on healing.