Extremity Perfusion for Sarcoma

For more than 50 years, the technique of extremity perfusion has been explored in the limb salvage treatment of local, recurrent, and multifocal sarcomas. The “discovery” of tumor necrosis factor-α in combination with melphalan was a real breakthrough in the treatment of primarily irresectable extremity sarcomas. Development of new treatment strategies in extremity perfusion, better perfusion or infusion equipment, and modifying the technique and the use of molecular imaging technology might further improve limb salvage rates and decrease local failures in the future and provide more insight into the tumor biology of sarcoma.