Why is the PSP Important?

There are over 60 new diagnoses of spinal sarcoma each year in the United Kingdom, with many more patients living with the disease at various treatment stages. Spinal sarcoma may present late in the disease course when patients develop neurological deficits, impacting the disease's stage, the complexity of therapeutic procedures, overall survival, and health-related quality of life. Patients need a combination of surgical treatment, chemotherapy and radiotherapy; these treatments may themselves lead to disability, and patients require long-term follow-up to ensure that the disease does not reoccur. Although the absolute number of patients is small, because of improvements in treatment an increasing number of patients are living longer with complex medical problems.