There are a number of reasons the team may decide not to cut the tumor out right away. Radiotherapy may be recommended before surgery and has been shown to decrease the risk of local recurrence.One advantage of pre-operative radiation is the delivery of a smaller radiation dose to a smaller target volume when compared with post-operative radiotherapy. This translates into fewer long-term treatment complications and better function of the extremity, as demonstrated in Phase III randomized clinical trials. Other potential advantages of giving radiotherapy before surgery include shrinking the tumor and reducing the risk of tumor cell seeding at the time of surgery. The main concern about pre-operative radiotherapy is the risk of increasing the rate of delayed wound healing when compared with postoperative radiation. An additional reason to treat the tumor before surgically removing it is that your team will be able to assess the impact pre-operative treatments have on the tumor. As an example, consider a tumor that is given pre-operative chemotherapy. Once the tumor is removed, it is evaluated by pathologists. Perhaps there has been very little tumor that has been killed by the chemotherapy. If the tumor recurs locally or shows up in a distant site, the medical oncologist would likely try a different type of chemotherapy with different drugs, as opposed to using drugs that did not work as effectively as anticipated the first time. In some cases, the tumor may be inoperable or impossible to remove without sacrificing important nerves, blood vessels or muscles. In this situation, pre-operative treatment (chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy) is often recommended in the hope that the treatment may shrink the tumor and make it possible to remove it surgically, while sparing important structures.