TriangleFOR PATIENTS · SOURCE READING
Surgery
Source: Childhood Soft Tissue Sarcoma (PDQ®)–Patient Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: May 9, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
Context: Types of treatment for childhood soft tissue sarcoma
Surgery to completely remove the soft tissue sarcoma is done when possible. If the tumor is very large, radiation therapy or chemotherapy may be given first, to make the tumor smaller and decrease the amount of tissue that needs to be removed during surgery. This is called neoadjuvant (preoperative) therapy.
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The following types of surgery may be used:
Wide local excision removes the tumor along with some normal tissue around it.
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Amputation removes all or part of the arm or leg with cancer.
Lymphadenectomy removes the lymph nodes with cancer.
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Mohs surgery is used to treat cancer in the skin. Individual layers of cancer tissue are removed and checked under a microscope one at a time until all cancer tissue has been removed. This type of surgery is used to treat dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. It is also called Mohs micrographic surgery.
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A second-look surgery may be needed to:
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remove any remaining cancer cells
check the area around where the tumor was removed for cancer cells and then remove more tissue, if needed
After the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of the surgery, some patients may be given chemotherapy or radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left. Treatment given after the surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back, is called adjuvant therapy.
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Learn more about Surgery to Treat Cancer.
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Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice