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Definition

Soft tissue sarcoma is a malignant tumor that begins in the muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, or other "soft" supporting tissues of the body. Soft tissue sarcomas do not originate in bone or cartilage.

Description

Soft Tissue Sarcomas (STS) are a group of cancers that originate from the basic elements of body tissues like: muscle, vessels, fatty tissue, fibrous tissue, etc. They may involve any part or any organ of the body. They account for about 1% of all cancers in USA and roughly 6,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United states. Average age at the time of diagnosis is 40-60 years. The incidence of STS is higher among persons with certain heritable cancers like Retinoblastoma, etc. Sarcomas are more common in New Zealand than in the United States.

Sarcomas are cancers of the body tissues, as opposed to those of specific organs. They arise in bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, nerves, blood vessels and other connective tissue. Most sarcomas arise in the extremities. But they can arise within almost any organ in the body, because all organs contain most of these types of tissue.

Sarcomas are divided into those involving hard tissue, bone and cartilage, and those involving soft tissue, which includes all other tissues.

There are a number of major types of sarcoma based on the type of cell from which it arises. These are angiosarcoma (blood vessel); liposarcoma (fat); fibrosarcoma (connective tissue); rhabdomyosarcoma (muscle); leiomyosarcoma (smooth, involuntary muscle); neurofibrosarcoma (nerve covering); synovial sarcoma (membrane lining the joints); and lymphangiosarcoma (lymph vessel).

Liposarcoma represents about 15 percent of all cases. It is commonly found on the extremities and behind the abdominal cavity.
 
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