Patients with an increased time to treatment initiation have a poorer overall survival after definitive surgery for localized high-grade soft-tissue sarcoma in the extremity or trunk : report from the National Cancer Database.

A time to treatment initiation of more than 30 days after diagnosis was independently associated with poorer survival. The hazard ratio showed linear increase, especially if the TTI was more than 50 days. We recommend starting treatment within 30 days of diagnosis to achieve the highest likelihood of cure for localized high-grade soft-tissue sarcomas in the limbs and trunk, even when a patient needs to be referred to a specialist centre. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(6):1142-1149.