Soft Tissue Sarcoma

Soft Tissue Sarcoma General Information

The term "sarcoma" is a Greek word that is known to mean "fleshy growth." Soft Tissue Sarcomas are known to be malignant (cancerous) tumors that affect the organism’s soft tissues (the tissues that support, connect and / or surround the main organs of the human body; they include synovial tissues, blood vessels, fat, muscles, nerves, tendons, and so on). These areas can be affected by various types of sarcomas. This medical condition is not a common one. Studies have shown that male individuals are slightly more prone to developing this medical disorder than female patients. In some cases, this medical illness is diagnosed in adolescents and even in children. Although there are various types of sarcomas that affect the organism’s soft tissues, they share many similarities; for example, most Soft Tissue Sarcomas trigger the same symptoms. The therapy against different types of sarcomas of the organism’s soft tissues also presents wide similarities.

The type of the patient’s sarcoma depends on the soft tissue that has become affected by the disease. The most common sarcomas of the soft tissues include go by a variety of names, depending on the tissue in which they originate. Locations of sarcomas and their names include: rhabdomyosarcomas (which affect the individual’s skeletal muscles, and is more common in children), leiomyosarcomas (which affect the patient’s smooth muscles, and is more common in adult patients), hemangiosarcomas (cancer of the blood vessels), lymphangiosarcomas (in such cases, the cancerous cells affect the patient’s lymph vessels), synovial sarcomas (that are generally located at the patient’s ankles and / or knees), liposarcomas, fibrosarcomas, and so on.

Soft Tissue Sarcoma Symptoms

Although this medical condition can affect all soft tissues of the organism, 60% of all Soft Tissue Sarcomas affect the patient’s feet, hands, legs, arms, and so on. 20% of all cancerous disorders of this nature are located in the abdomen and / or chest, while only 10% affect the patient’s neck or head. In the early stages of this medical disorder, the patient does not present any unusual symptoms (the disorder is asymptomatic). However, as the cancer spreads and the tumor grows, the individual may present an abnormal swelling and / or lump. If the tumor starts to press the patient’s muscles or nerves, it may cause pain, which varies from mild to severe. Individuals who are suffering from the abdominal form of this cancerous clinical illness (abdominal Soft Tissue Sarcoma) may present bleeding of the intestines, bleeding of the stomach, intestinal blockage and stomach blockage.

As the symptoms that are widely associated with this medical disorder can also be triggered by a wide variety of other illnesses, a proper diagnosis of the patient’s condition can only be set after the individual has undergone a set of medical exams. Most diagnosing medical tests require a sample of the patient’s soft tissue (which is suspected to be affected by Soft Tissue Sarcoma). Among the most common techniques that are employed in order to obtain such a sample are: surgical biopsy, needle biopsy, and so on. X-rays and any other imaging tests may also enable your personal health care provider set a proper diagnosis of your medical condition.

Soft Tissue Sarcoma Treatment

The proper therapy option that should be employed against the patient’s Soft Tissue Sarcoma is known to depend on the location, size and type of the tumor. The patient’s general health condition is also an important factor that should be taken into consideration when the physician chooses the treatment against this disorder. Surgical approach is quite common among most sarcomas of soft tissues, especially if the cancerous cells have not yet spread to any other parts of the patient’s organism. During this procedure, the physician eliminates the cancerous cells and a rim of the healthy tissue that surrounded the tumor. In the past, if the patient was suffering from a Soft Tissue Sarcoma of a leg or of an arm, amputation of the respective limb was very common. However, due to today’s progress in medicine and clinical techniques, enables limb-sparring to be possible in most clinical cases.

Radiotherapy (Radiation therapy or X-ray therapy) is an effective remedy against most cancerous disorders (including Soft Tissue Sarcomas). This therapy options aims to kill the cancerous cells through radiation (X-rays, gamma rays) or through beams of high-energy particles. Although this type of treatment also affects the patient’s healthy cells, the damage is less severe than that made to the cancerous cells. Furthermore, the patient’s healthy cells have a higher recovery rate than the cancerous ones.

Many individuals who have been diagnosed with a cancerous disorder undergo this type of therapy. More than one X-ray treatment trial may be necessary. This type of treatment is widely employed before and after a surgical procedure that aims to remove the tumor. However, some specialists also employ this medical procedure in order to reduce the size of the patient’s tumor (this may ease the individual’s symptoms, as the pressure on the muscles and / or nerves diminishes).

Chemotherapy is also a widely employed medical technique in the fight against Soft Tissue Sarcomas. This treatment is known to use various drugs that are able to destroy the rapidly dividing cancerous cells. However, this therapy also affects the patient’s healthy rapidly dividing cells (like those in the patient’s reproductive system, gastrointestinal tract, bone marrow, hair follicles, and so on). The healthy cells are generally able to recover with great ease and speed after the completion of the chemotherapy. In other words, the patient’s hair is expected to start growing again after the patient has finished his chemotherapy trial.

Chemotherapy may be employed to eliminate the cancerous cells from the human organism (this may occur even if the cancer is widespread), ease the patient’s symptoms, prolong the individual’s life (by keeping the tumor’s spread and / or growth under control), and enhance the patient’s quality of life. Besides chemotherapy, some medical products are able to inhibit a set of enzymes that enhance the growth and development of the cancer. The most common of these medicines is Imatinib (Gleevec); this medical product is widely employed in the therapy against gastrointestinal stromal tumor.