Robert S. Benjamin

Prognostic factors for patients with localized soft-tissue sarcoma treated with conservation surgery and radiation therapy: an analysis of 1225 patients.

Prognostic factors for patients with soft‐tissue sarcoma who are treated with conservative surgery and radiation are documented poorly.

Combination chemotherapy in adult desmoid tumors.

Background. Desmoid tumors are locally aggressive tumors, with no metastatic potential, that generally are amenable to local treatments, such as surgery and radiation therapy. Systemic therapy is considered for selected cases that are not amenable to local treatment.

Surgical margins and reresection in the management of patients with soft tissue sarcoma using conservative surgery and radiation therapy.

Patients with localized soft tissue sarcoma (STS) who present to specialist centers after undergoing apparent macroscopic total resection often have a significant incidence of residual tumor and may benefit from reresection of the tumor bed. The potential benefits of such reresection have not been documented adequately.

Long‐term follow‐up of patients with giant cell tumor of the sacrum treated with selective arterial embolization

Giant cell tumors of the bone can behave as aggressive and sometimes lethal tumors. In the sacrum, the tumor can be extremely difficult to manage. Standard treatments, including surgery and radiation, are associated with significant complications and recurrence rates. The goal of this study is to evaluate the long‐term outcome of selective arterial embolization as an alternative treatment modality.

Radiographic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a predictor of local control and survival in soft tissue sarcomas

Downstaging of large soft tissue sarcomas can be accomplished by the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NeoCT). The authors tested the hypothesis that radiographic response to NeoCT predicts improved local control and survival.

Patterns of recurrence in extremity liposarcoma: Implications for staging and follow-up

Liposarcoma is one of the most common histologic types of soft tissue sarcoma and presents a wide spectrum of clinical behavior. The authors examined the correlation among histologic subtypes, outcomes, and patterns of recurrence among patients with extremity liposarcomas.

A two-arm phase II study of temozolomide in patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors and other soft tissue sarcomas.

The authors conducted a two‐arm Phase II study of temozolomide to determine its efficacy and toxicity in patients with soft tissue sarcomas (STSs) who had received, had refused, or were not eligible for standard chemotherapy with doxorubicin and ifosfamide (Arm 1) and in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs; Arm 2). Patients with GIST were eligible regardless of prior therapy before imatinib was available.

A 15‐year experience with chemotherapy of patients with paraganglioma

Background. Paraganglioma is a rare tumor thought to arise from the neuroectodermally derived paraganglionic cells that are dispersed widely along the autonomic ganglia. They can metastasize to bones, lymph nodes, and lungs and occasionally present with spinal cord compression. Up to 60% of retroperitoneal paragangliomas can be functional, with symptoms and signs of norepinephrine overproduction.

Utility of chest computed tomography for staging in patients with T1 extremity soft tissue sarcomas

National Cancer Center Network (NCCN) and Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) practice guidelines recommend chest computed tomography (CT) as part of the staging evaluation of patients with extremity soft tissue sarcoma (STS). In the current study, the authors evaluated the use and yield of chest roentgenography (CXR) and selective chest CT to screen for pulmonary metastases in patients with T1 STS.

Expression of Bcl-2 in gastrointestinal stromal tumors: Correlation with progression-free survival in 81 patients treated with imatinib mesylate

The natural history of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) has been revolutionized by imatinib mesylate (imatinib) therapy. Before imatinib, Bcl‐2 expression in GIST was associated with a worse prognosis or added no additional prognostic value. To the authors knowledge, the current study is the first to evaluate Bcl‐2 expression in pre‐imatinib GIST tissue samples as a prognostic marker of progression‐free survival (PFS) time in patients treated with imatinib.