Shorter Course, Hypofractionated Pre-Surgery Radiation Therapy in Treating Patients With Localized, Resectable Soft Tissue Sarcoma of the Extremity of Superficial Trunk

Inclusion Criteria: * Tumor located in the soft tissues of the extremities or superficial trunk * Deemed a candidate for complete macroscopic resection of the primary sarcoma * Histologically confirmed sarcoma arising in soft tissue * Patient may have had excisional biopsy of all gross disease at an outside facility with positive or uncertain resection margins and still be eligible if the evaluating sarcoma surgeon in the participating institution recommends oncologic re-resection of the surgical bed to obtain negative margins after a course of neoadjuvant irradiation (a sandwich approach of marginal excision--\>radiation therapy(RT)--\> wide excision, as per our standard practice) * No evidence of nodal or distant metastases as determined by clinical examination or any form of imaging * Has provided written informed consent for participation in this trial * Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 3 or less * Life expectancy greater than 6 months * Patients capable of childbearing are using adequate contraception * Available for follow-up Exclusion Criteria: * Previous radiation therapy to the site of the sarcoma or area surrounding it such that it would be encompassed by the radiation field needed to treat the current sarcoma. In other words, treatment on this trial would require re-irradiation of tissues * Patients with nodal or distant metastases * Women who are pregnant