Sarcoma treatment in the era of molecular medicine

• Published in: EMBO molecular medicine Vol. 12; no. 11; pp. e11131 - n/a
• Main Authors: Grünewald, Thomas GP, Alonso, Marta, Avnet, Sofia, Banito, Ana, Burdach, Stefan, Cidre‐Aranaz, Florencia, Di Pompo, Gemma, Distel, Martin, Dorado‐Garcia, Heathcliff, Garcia‐Castro, Javier, González‐González, Laura, Grigoriadis, Agamemnon E, Kasan, Merve, Koelsche, Christian, Krumbholz, Manuela, Lecanda, Fernando, Lemma, Silvia, Longo, Dario L, Madrigal‐Esquivel, Claudia, Morales‐Molina, Álvaro, Musa, Julian, Ohmura, Shunya, Ory, Benjamin, Pereira‐Silva, Miguel, Perut, Francesca, Rodriguez, Rene, Seeling, Carolin, Al Shaaili, Nada, Shaabani, Shabnam, Shiavone, Kristina, Sinha, Snehadri, Tomazou, Eleni M, Trautmann, Marcel, Vela, Maria, Versleijen‐Jonkers, Yvonne MH, Visgauss, Julia, Zalacain, Marta, Schober, Sebastian J, Lissat, Andrej, English, William R, Baldini, Nicola, Heymann, Dominique
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 06.11.2020; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; EMBO Press; Wiley Open Access; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Springer Nature
• Subjects: Adolescent; Bone cancer; Bone Neoplasms; bone sarcoma; Cancer therapies; Child; Classification; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA methylation; Drug resistance; Drug therapy; EMBO03; EMBO24; EMBO25; Epidemiology; Ewings sarcoma; Extracellular matrix; Fibroblasts; Gene expression; Histopathology; Humans; Hyperthermia; Immunotherapy; Life Sciences; Liposarcoma; Metastasis; molecular diagnostics; Molecular Medicine; Morphology; Mutation; Oncology; Osteosarcoma; Patients; Pediatrics; Radiation; Review; Sarcoma; Sarcoma - genetics; Sarcoma - therapy; Soft Tissue Neoplasms; soft tissue sarcoma; Solid tumors; Stem cells; Surgery; targeted therapy; Tumors; Italy; molecular medicine; molecular diagnostics; targeted therapy; soft tissue sarcoma; bone sarcoma
• ISSN: 1757-4676; 1757-4684; 1757-4684
• DOI: 10.15252/emmm.201911131

Sarcomas are heterogeneous and clinically challenging soft tissue and bone cancers. Although constituting only 1% of all human malignancies, sarcomas represent the second most common type of solid tumors in children and adolescents and comprise an important group of secondary malignancies. More than 100 histological subtypes have been characterized to date, and many more are being discovered due to molecular profiling. Owing to their mostly aggressive biological behavior, relative rarity, and occurrence at virtually every anatomical site, many sarcoma subtypes are in particular difficult‐to‐treat categories. Current multimodal treatment concepts combine surgery, polychemotherapy (with/without local hyperthermia), irradiation, immunotherapy, and/or targeted therapeutics. Recent scientific advancements have enabled a more precise molecular characterization of sarcoma subtypes and revealed novel therapeutic targets and prognostic/predictive biomarkers. This review aims at providing a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in the molecular biology of sarcomas and their effects on clinical oncology; it is meant for a broad readership ranging from novices to experts in the field of sarcoma. Graphical Abstract Sarcomas are heterogeneous and clinically challenging soft tissue and bone cancers. The current article comprehensively reviews recent advances in the molecular characterization of sarcoma subtypes, and describes novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers in this field.