OBJECTIVETo summarize the experience and investigate better method on treatment of high-grade soft tissue sarcomas of crura in youth.

METHODSSix young cases suffered from high-grade soft tissue sarcomas of crura were treated by interpolatory chemotherapy using vindesine 4mg or vincristine 2 mg combined with cisplatin 40 - 60 mg and 4'-Epidoxorubicin (4'-epi-ADM) 50 - 80 mg. There were 3 males and 3 females, and their ages rang from 12 to 23. The primary tumor locations were: calf in 4, thigh in 1, popliteal fossa in 1. The pathological type of these 6 cases were: 1 small round cell tumor from soft tissue, one rabdomyosarcoma, one alveoliar soft part sarcoma, one synovial sarcoma, one primitive neuroectodermal tumor and one without classification. All cases received interpolatory chemotherapy twice. Before their receiving interpolatory chemotherapy they had no tumor metastases. The maximum diameters of tumors rang from 4 - 15 cm. One patient's tumor disappeared after interpolatory chemotherapy and she received no further therapy. The other 5 cases received operations and one of them received additional pre-operational radiotherapy using Co(60) and pre-operational systemic chemotherapy using ifosfamide and dacarbazine.

RESULTSThe tumors dwindled in size of 1 - 8 cm after interpolatory chemotherapy. All cases saved their crura and had normal functions. After interpolatory chemotherapy, all patients suffered from edema and ache of crura. One patient suffered from lymphatitis. All these patients were followed up for 6 - 20 months. All of them were alive and had pigmentations on their crura. A lung metastasis was found in 1 patient by CT 2 months after surgery, then he was in hospital and treated by chemotherapy.

CONCLUSIONSFor treatment of high-grade soft tissue sarcomas of crura which are difficult to resect in youth, interpolatory chemotherapy is a good choice.