The evolving role of precision medicine in the management of advanced sarcomas – A mini review

Abstract

Sarcomas are a heterogenous group of cancers, traditionally with dismal outcomes. They were initially treated with histology agnostic chemotherapy-based regimens usually centered around anthracyclines. With the availability of molecular diagnostics especially next-generation sequencing, the advanced genomics of sarcomas was slowly unveiled. Precision medicine not only enables a better diagnosis in sarcomas but also allows in identifying better targets for treatment of sarcoma subtypes. GENSARC study proved that using correct molecular diagnostics, enabled in a better diagnosis and treatment of soft tissue sarcomas (STSs). Notable examples of targeted therapies with great success in sarcomas include imatinib and other tyrosine kinase inhibitors in gastrointestinal stromal tumors, neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase inhibitors infantile fibrosarcoma, and crizotinib in inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors. Thus, treatment of sarcomas has been gradually changing from traditional chemotherapy-based treatments to the modern targeted therapy. In this review, we hope to impress on the evolving role of precision medicine in sarcoma subtypes especially STS.