Fluorothymidine F-18 PET in Diagnosing Patients With Intermediate or High Grade Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Inclusion Criteria

• •Participants must have histological evidence of an intermediate or high grade soft tissue sarcoma (STS) of any stage
• •Participants must have measurable disease, defined as at least one lesion that can be accurately measured in at least one dimension as \>= 1 cm with CT scan or MRI
• •Prior resection is allowed if there is measurable gross disease and the subject plans to have neoadjuvant radiotherapy followed by resection
• •Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status =\< 4, Karnofsky performance status \>= 40%
• •Creatinine =\< 3 x upper limit of normal (ULM)
• •Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) =\< 3 x ULN
• •Participants should be willing and able to have both PET-CT scans
• •Participants should be eligible for and plan to undergo neoadjuvant radiation therapy and should be seen by a radiation oncologist prior to beginning the study; radiation at an outside facility will be allowed
• •Participants should be eligible for and plan to have resection with a surgeon specializing in STS at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and should be seen by said surgeon prior to beginning the study
• •Participants should have a life expectancy that is greater than the study duration
• •Participants should be willing to use adequate contraception from the time of the first PET-CT scan to 2 months after radiotherapy finishes; should a woman become pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately
• •Women with childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test before each PET-CT scan
• •Participants should have the ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document
• •Participants must sign a study specific consent form prior to registration