Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Overview
What is the Soft Tissue Sarcoma?
Sarcoma is a type of cancer that happens when the cells present in bones and muscles begin to divide abnormally. The two most common forms are bone and soft tissue sarcomas.
Soft tissue sarcomas begin in the muscles, fats, lymph vessels, blood vessels, nerves and fat cells along with other kinds of tissues.
Causes Soft Tissue Sarcoma cancer ?
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 may increase your risk of sarcoma include:
- Inherited syndromes. A risk of soft tissue sarcoma can be inherited from your parents. Genetic syndromes that increase your risk include hereditary retinoblastoma, Li-Fraumeni syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis, neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis and Werner syndrome.
- Chemical exposure. Being exposed to certain chemicals, such as herbicides, arsenic and dioxin, may increase the risk of soft tissue sarcomas.
- Radiation exposure. Previous radiation treatment for other cancers can increase the risk of soft tissue sarcomas.
Diagnosis
As there are various types of soft tissue sarcomas, it becomes imperative to get the diagnosis right before proceeding with the treatment. There are multiple testing methods available for the detection and diagnosis of soft tissue sarcomas:
a. Physical Exam
b. Imaging Tests
c. Biopsy
d. Biopsy:
