New drugs and combinations for the treatment of soft-tissue sarcoma: a review

Abstract

Neeta Somaiah,1 Margaret von Mehren21Department of Sarcoma Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA; 2Department of Medical Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USAAbstract: Sarcomas are a heterogeneous group of solid tumors arising from either soft tissues or bone, accounting for approximately 1% of all cancers in adults. Management of these diseases has changed little over the past 10 years, with the exception of treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Reasons for this stagnation include multiple histologies commonly grouped together in clinical trials limiting the understanding of benefit of treatment and limited investigation of molecular targeted therapies. More recently, advances in molecular pathogenesis, the advent of novel and targeted therapeutics, and increasing collaborations between sarcoma investigators has helped move the field forward in the right direction. Here, we review the recent data on novel agents tested for the management of adult soft-tissue sarcomas, excluding gastrointestinal stromal tumors.Keywords: soft tissue sarcoma, clinical trials, trabectedin, palifosfamide, pazopanib