What is sarcoma

Lukas Nystrom, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Cleveland Clinic specializing in musculoskeletal oncology, joins the Cancer Advances podcast to talk about the management of soft tissue sarcoma in adults. Listen as Dr. Nystrom talks about the misconceptions and the multidisciplinary care that is needed to treat this rare cancer. Subscribe: Podcast Transcript Dale Shepard, MD, PhD: Cancer Advances, a Cleveland Clinic podcast for medical professionals exploring the latest innovative research and clinical advances in the field of oncology. Thank you for joining us for another episode of Cancer Advances. I'm your host, Dr. Dale Shepard, a medical oncologist here at Cleveland Clinic overseeing our Taussig phase one and sarcoma programs. Today I'm happy to be joined by Dr. Luke Nystrom, an orthopedic surgeon here at Cleveland Clinic specializing in musculoskeletal oncology as a member of the Cleveland Clinic Sarcoma team. He's here today to talk to us about management of soft tissue sarcoma in adults. So welcome to the podcast. Lukas Nystrom, MD: Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here. Dale Shepard, MD, PhD: Absolutely. So, give us a little idea, what is your role here at Cleveland Clinic? What do you do? Lukas Nystrom, MD: Well, I have a couple of different hats that I wear. So as an orthopedic surgeon, I do take care of many different general orthopedic problems, hip and knee replacement, fractures, infections, things of that nature. But my real passion is musculoskeletal onc...

Liposarcoma Liposarcoma is a type of cancer that starts in the fat cells. It happens most often in the muscles of the limbs or the abdomen. Liposarcoma is a rare type of cancer that starts in the fat cells. It most often begins as a growth of cells in the belly or in the arm and leg muscles. But liposarcoma can begin in the fat cells anywhere in the body. Liposarcoma happens most often in older adults, but it can happen at any age. Symptoms Liposarcoma symptoms depend on the part of the body where the cancer forms. Liposarcoma in the arms and legs can cause: • A growing lump of tissue under the skin. • Pain. • Swelling. • Weakness of the affected limb. Liposarcoma in the belly, also called the abdomen, can cause: • Abdominal pain. • Abdominal swelling. • Feeling full sooner when eating. • Constipation. • Blood in stool. When to see a doctor Make an appointment with a doctor or other health care professional if you have any symptoms that don't go away and that worry you. Causes It's not clear what causes liposarcoma. Liposarcoma starts when fat cells get changes in their DNA. A cell's DNA holds the instructions that tell the cell what to do. The changes turn the fat cells into cancer cells. The changes tell the cancer cells to grow quickly and make a lot of extra cells. The cancer cells keep living when healthy cells would die as part of their natural life cycle. The cancer cells form a growth, called a tumor. In some types of liposarcoma, the cancer cells stay put. They co...

Overview Soft tissue sarcoma in lower leg muscle. What is soft tissue sarcoma? Soft tissue sarcomas are rare cancerous Are soft tissue sarcomas common? No, they aren’t. The American Cancer Society estimates about 13,400 adults and children will learn that they have soft tissue sarcoma in 2023. Soft tissues sarcomas represent 1% of all Types of soft tissue sarcomas There are 70 different types of soft tissue sarcoma. Some soft tissue sarcomas are more common in adults than in children and adolescents (older children between ages 15 and 19). According to the American Cancer Society, the most common soft tissue sarcomas in adults are: • Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma. This cancer develops in soft tissue in your legs, arms or chest, quickly spreading to other areas of your body. • Liposarcoma. You may have this soft tissue sarcoma type in your belly but it may also appear in your thighs and other areas of your body. • Leiomyosarcoma. This soft tissue sarcoma starts in your smooth muscles. You have smooth muscles in your belly, bladder, uterus, intestines and your blood vessels. The most common soft tissue sarcomas in teenagers and young adults are: • Rhabdomyosarcoma. This is a very rare soft tissue sarcoma. Healthcare providers can treat this condition, but rhabdomyosarcoma may come back (recur). About 70% of people with rhabdomyosarcoma are alive five years after diagnosis. • Ewing sarcoma in soft tissue . This sarcoma type usually develops in tissues next to your bone...

Overview Sarcoma is a type of cancer that can occur in various locations in your body. Sarcoma is the general term for a broad group of cancers that begin in the bones and in the soft (also called connective) tissues (soft tissue sarcoma). Soft tissue sarcoma forms in the tissues that connect, support and surround other body structures. This includes muscle, fat, blood vessels, nerves, tendons and the lining of your joints. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Symptoms Signs and symptoms of sarcoma include: • A lump that can be felt through the skin that may or may not be painful • Bone pain • A broken bone that happens unexpectedly, such as with a minor injury or no injury at all • Abdominal pain • Weight loss Causes It's not clear what causes most sarcomas. In general, cancer forms when changes (mutations) happen in the DNA within cells. The DNA inside a cell is packaged into a large number of individual genes, each of which contains a set of instructions telling the cell what functions to perform, as well as how to grow and divide. Mutations might tell cells to grow and divide uncontrollably and to continue living when normal cells would die. If this happens, the accumulating abnormal cells can form a tumor. Cells can break away and spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. Risk factors Factors that can increase the risk of sarcoma include: • Inherited syndromes. Some syndromes that increase the risk of cancer can be passed from parents to children. Examples of sy...

Overview Very rarely, leiomyosarcoma can affect the kidneys. What is leiomyosarcoma? Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is an aggressive, rare type of What are the different types of leiomyosarcoma? There are three different types of leiomyosarcoma. These include: • Somatic soft tissue LMS. This type of leiomyosarcoma affects your body’s connective tissue. It’s the most common form of LMS. • Cutaneous or subcutaneous LMS. A rare type of leiomyosarcoma, cutaneous or subcutaneous LMS affects the piloerector muscles in the skin. (The piloerector muscles are located in your skin and eyes. They’re responsible for giving you goosebumps and making your pupils dilate.) • LMS of a vascular origin. The rarest type of leiomyosarcoma, LMS of a vascular origin develops in a major blood vessel, such as the pulmonary artery, inferior vena cava or peripheral arteries. Who does leiomyosarcoma affect? Leiomyosarcoma affects men and women, but it occurs more often in women. Though the condition can develop in people of any age, it’s more common in people over the age of 50. How common is leiomyosarcoma? According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 15,000 people are diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma every year. Leiomyosarcoma accounts for 10% to 20% of those cases. In the United States, there are about 1.4 leiomyosarcoma cases for every 100,000 people. How fast does leiomyosarcoma grow? Leiomyosarcoma is aggressive. It grows quickly and can double in size in as little as one month. For this rea...

• An estimated 13,460 new cases of soft tissue sarcomas and 3,610 new cases of bone cancers will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2021, with around 7,410 deaths expected to result from the diagnosis. • Sarcomas are rare in adults and make up approximately 1% of all adult cancer diagnoses. • Sarcomas are relatively more common among children. Between 1,500 and 1,700 children are diagnosed with a bone or soft tissue sarcoma in the U.S. each year. This makes up about 15% of cancers in children under the age of 20. • The overall relative five-year survival rate for people with soft tissue sarcoma is around 65% and for people with bone cancer, the overall relative five-year survival rate is 70%. • When the sarcoma starts in an arm or leg, the five-year survival rates are slightly higher for each stage when compared with sarcoma that starts in other locations. Source: American Cancer Society’s Cancer Facts & Figures 2021; Sarcoma Alliance; and American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Cancer.Net Signs and Symptoms A symptom is a change in the body that a person can see and/or feel. A sign is a change that the doctor sees during an examination or on a laboratory test result. If you have any of the symptoms below, it does not mean you have cancer but you should see your doctor or health care professional so that the cause can be found and treated, if needed. Soft Tissue Sarcoma • A lump that is increasing in size or becomes painful • A lump of any size that is located deep within a muscl...

Although RMS can arise anywhere in the body, it's more likely to start in the: • Head and neck area • Urinary system, such as the bladder • Reproductive system, such as the vagina, uterus and testes • Arms and legs The outlook (prognosis) and treatment decisions depend on the type of rhabdomyosarcoma, where it starts, tumor size and whether the cancer has spread. Treatment is usually with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Major advancements in the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma have significantly improved outcomes. After completion of treatment, people need lifelong monitoring for potential late effects of intense chemotherapy and radiation. Symptoms Signs and symptoms of rhabdomyosarcoma depend on where the cancer is located. For example, if the cancer is in the head or neck area, signs and symptoms may include, among others: • Headache • Bulging or swelling of the eyes • Bleeding in the nose, throat or ears If the cancer is in the urinary or reproductive system, signs and symptoms may include, among others: • Trouble urinating and blood in the urine • Difficulty with bowel movements • A mass or bleeding in the vagina or rectum If the cancer is in the arms or legs, signs and symptoms may include, among others: • Swelling or a lump in the arm or leg • Pain in the affected area, though sometimes there is no pain Causes It's not clear what causes rhabdomyosarcoma. Doctors know that rhabdomyosarcoma begins when a cell develops changes in its DNA. A ...