Sarcoma
| Sarcoma | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Sarcomas, sarcomata |
| Optical coherence tomography (OCT) image of a sarcoma | |
| Specialty | Oncology |
| Symptoms | Bone pain, swelling, lumps or nodules, intestinal obstruction |
| Risk factors | Exposure to ionizing radiation, alkylating agents, or vinyl chloride; Certain genetic disorders and mutations; young age |
| Diagnostic method | Biopsy |
| Treatment | Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy |
| Prognosis | 66.9% five-year survival rate for bone sarcomas, 64.5% five-year survival rate for soft-tissue sarcomas |
| Frequency | 0.9% of annual cancer diagnoses |
| Deaths | About 7,000 per year in the United States |
A sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that arises from cells of mesenchymal origin. Originating from mesenchymal cells means that sarcomas are cancers of connective tissues such as bone, cartilage, muscle, fat, or vascular tissues.
Sarcomas are one of five different types of cancer, classified by the cell type from which they originate. While there are five types under this category, sarcomas are most frequently contrasted with carcinomas which are much more common. Sarcomas are quite rare, making up about 1% of all adult cancer diagnoses and 15% of childhood cancer diagnoses.
There are many subtypes of sarcoma, which are classified based on the specific tissue and type of cell from which the tumor originates. Common examples of sarcoma include liposarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, and osteosarcoma. Sarcomas are primary connective tissue tumors, meaning that they arise in connective tissues. This is in contrast to secondary (or "metastatic") connective tissue tumors, which occur when a cancer from elsewhere in the body (such as the lungs, breast tissue or prostate) spreads to the connective tissue.
The word sarcoma is derived from the Greek σάρκωμα sarkōma 'fleshy excrescence or substance', itself from σάρξ sarx meaning 'flesh'.