Why choose Penn Medicine for sarcoma cancer care?
By choosing Penn Medicine for your sarcoma care, you’ll have access to:
Experience and expertise: While other cancer centers may see one or two sarcoma cases a year, we treat 200 to 250 sarcoma patients annually. Our team has decades of combined experience, treating even the rarest and most complex tumors. Our doctors publish influential papers, serve in national leadership positions, and give talks around the country.
Multidisciplinary care: Our dedicated sarcoma clinicians include surgeons, oncologists, musculoskeletal radiologists and pathologists, and researchers who work closely together to provide specialized sarcoma care. As part of a larger health system, our patients have access to other specialists when needed as well. For younger patients, we also partner with the Sarcoma Program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
Flexible care: We aim to have you see all of the providers that you need to on the same day in the same location. While most appointments take place in person at our clinics, you may be able to do some follow-ups virtually if you live in Pennsylvania. We’re also happy to work with your local doctors if you need chemotherapy closer to home.
In addition to communicating daily, our sarcoma team holds a weekly tumor board meeting that brings together more than a dozen dedicated Penn Medicine sarcoma specialists across a number of departments to discuss patient cases.
This allows for more expert input on complex cases and helps guide care at crucial points. The team might work to confirm a diagnosis, establish the best course of treatment—including clinical trial eligibility when applicable—or assess treatment progress.
The sarcoma specialists involved in this conference include:
- Musculoskeletal radiologists
- Medical oncologists
- Neurosurgeons
- Orthopaedic oncologists
- Musculoskeletal pathologists
- Radiation oncologists
- Surgical oncologists
- Additional surgeons as needed from plastic surgery, urology, gynecologic oncology, colorectal surgery, and head and neck surgery
Some sarcoma cases may also go before additional Penn Medicine tumor boards, such as Gynecologic Oncology or Neuro-oncology, depending on the location of the sarcoma in the body.
The Abramson Cancer Center was one of the first cancer centers in the U.S. to join the Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration (SARC). Scientists at Penn Medicine work closely with doctors across the Sarcoma Program to drive innovation. Our researchers also partner with experts at CHOP and the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine to study why sarcomas spread and develop new therapies like immunotherapy and vaccines.
In addition to receiving funding from the National Institutes of Health, much of our work is supported by philanthropy programs like Steps to Cure Sarcoma, an organization raising awareness and funds for further sarcoma research.