Minimally invasive surgery using intraoperative electron-beam radiotherapy for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities with tendon involvement

Background When a soft tissue sarcoma (STS) is located at the distal part of an extremity and involves the tendon, a wide excision usually causes severe functional disability. We therefore developed a minimally invasive surgical technique using intraoperative electron-beam radiotherapy (IOERT) to reduce the incidence of post-operative functional disability in patients with peri-/intra-tendinous STS. We assessed the clinical outcomes of the novel minimally invasive surgery.