Target therapy in gastrointestinal tract sarcoma: What is new?

Soft tissue sarcoma are rare tumors arising mostly from embryonic mesoderm, that can affect almost any part of the human body, including the gastrointestinal tract. The prognosis associated with soft tissue sarcoma is still poor, mainly because of the low efficacy of traditional approaches based on surgery and chemotherapy. As a result of genetic and molecular analysis, several new target therapies have been developed, leading to a significant improvement in the survival of patients affected by advanced disease. In this review we aim to explore the therapeutic potential and benefit of target therapy in the management of gastrointestinal soft tissue sarcoma and the possible complications or pitfalls of such an approach. (C) 2010 Baishideng. All rights reserved