Radiology

Sociology

Consistency (knowledge bases)

Modalities

Narrative review

Treatment modality

Social science

Margin (machine learning)

Soft tissue

Machine learning

Resection

Classification scheme

Surgery

Intensive care medicine

Artificial intelligence

Multidisciplinary approach

Medical physics

Data science

Surgical margin

Resection margin

Computer science

Medicine

Cancers

Adequacy of margins must take into consideration both the resection margin width (quantity) and anatomic barrier (quality). There are several classification schemes for reporting surgical resection margin status for soft tissue sarcomas (STS). Most of the studies regarding treatment outcomes in STS included all histologic grades and histological subtypes, which include infiltrative and non-infiltrative subtypes and are very heterogeneous in terms of both histologic characteristics and treatment modalities (adjuvant treatments or not). This lack of consistency makes it difficult to compare results from study to study. Therefore, there is a great need for evidence-based standardization concerning the width of resection margins. The aim of this narrative review is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the literature on margins, and to highlight the need for a uniform description of the margin status for patients with STS. Patient cases should be discussed at multidisciplinary tumor boards and treatments should be individualized to clinical and demographic characteristics, which must include also a deep knowledge of specific histotypes behaviors, particularly infiltrative ones.

Margin Assessment in Soft Tissue Sarcomas: Review of the Literature