Background to SarcoSIGHT

The SarcoSIGHT (Sarcoma Surgery Intraoperative Guidance to Highlight Tumour) trial will include 500 patients across up to 17 UK sites to compare two different surgical techniques that are currently used in the NHS for sarcoma surgery. The aim of this trial is to find out if one technique is better than the other for removing the whole tumour.

Sarcoma tumours can be large and deep in the body, which means small amounts of tumour are sometimes missed. Scans taken before the operation are to help guide surgeons in these procedures. However, it can be difficult for the surgeons to relate these images to what they see during the operation. Fluorescence guided surgery is a new technique in which a dye is given to patients the day before their surgery, the infused dye collects in the tumour. During the operation this dye might help the surgeon to see the tumour better when it is viewed through a special camera using infra-red light. Currently, we do not know whether this technique improves a surgeon’s ability to remove all the tumour more often than when using standard techniques. This information will allow us to provide better care to patients, like yourself, in the future.

You will be fully informed of the process and the type of surgery you have been allocated to after randomisation. To ensure that the trial is fair, the random allocation will be performed by a computer, with equal chance of being allocated to either group, like flipping a coin. Some patients routinely arrive at hospital and stay overnight the day before their surgery, depending on the complexity of their surgery and their social situation. However, all patients allocated to the fluorescence guided surgery group will need to attend the day prior to their surgery so that the dye can be given.

Taking part in the trial will not involve any extra post-surgery visits to the hospital, but you will be asked to fill in some brief questionnaires. These will take around 15 minutes. These brief questionnaires will be given to you to complete before your operation and then at the visits, 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after your operation. They are designed to see how the operations have affected your quality of life and the function of your affected limb.