Magnetic Resonance/Positron Emission Tomography (MR/PET) Oncologic Applications: Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Introduction Bone and soft tissue sarcomas are rare and heterogeneous tumor entities; more than 50 histologic subtypes of these exist. Soft tissue sarcomas account for 0.7% and 6.5% of all adult and childhood malignancies, respectively, and primary bone cancer comprises 0.2% of all malignancies. Established treatment protocols for sarcoma are multimodal and complex and include surgery, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Most recently, targeted therapy has been introduced in the clinical setting and is being tested in a variety of trials. Metastatic disease occurs in up to 60% of patients with sarcoma who have been treated initially with curative intention, and the lung is the most common site of metastasis in most histologic subtypes of sarcoma. Improved outcomes may be attainable with earlier detection of metastatic disease and with accurate detection of local recurrence following therapy.