Sarcoma : Information

Introduction : Sarcoma

Sarcoma is a cancer that arises from cells of mesenchymal origin . Malignant tumors made of cancellous bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, vascular, or hematopoietic tissues are considered sarcomas. There are three main types of sarcoma:soft tissue sarcoma
,bone arcoma
andgastrointestinal stromal tumours (GIST)
and 100 sub types of sarcoma.

The four common types of bone sarcomas are:

Osteosarcoma:It is the most common type of bone cancer. Most cases develop in children and young people who are between the ages of 5 and 20, making it the third most common cancer in young people (afterleukemia
and brain tumors). Osteosarcoma usually develops in the larger bones, such as the thigh bone (femur) or the shin bone (tibia).

Ewing's sarcoma:Ewing's sarcoma usually develops inpelvis, thigh bone or shin bone and mostcommonlyoccurs inchildren and young people aged between 10 and 20 years.

Chondrosarcoma:This type of bone cancer usually develops in adults who are between the ages of 40 and 50. The most common sites for chondrosarcoma to develop are pelvis, thigh bone, upper arm bone, shoulder blade (scapula) and the ribs.

Cordoma: The majority of cordoma arise in the sacrum, base of the skull and spines, but it affects older adults aged 40 or over.


References:
www.nhs.uk
www.cancer.net
www.nlm.nih.gov
http://www.sarcoma.org.uk/

Symptoms : Sarcoma

The most common symptom of bone cancer is bone pain. It generally begins with a feeling of tenderness in the affected bone, and then gradually progresses to a persistent ache that often feels worse during the night or while using the affected bone. Others symptoms of bone cancer include:

  • A high temperature (fever) of 38C (100.4F) or above
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Sweating usually at night

Reference: www.cancer.net

Causes : Sarcoma

Cancer generally begins with the change in the DNA structure known as mutations.

Diagnosis : Sarcoma

X-rays: X-rays can often detect damage to the bones that is caused by cancer or any new bone that's growing because of cancer.

MRI scan: An MRI scan is an effective way of assessing the size and spread of any cancerous tumor inside the bones.

Biopsy: The other most definitive way of diagnosing bone cancer is to take a sample of affected bone and send it to a laboratory for testing. This is known as a biopsy.

Reference: www.sarcoma.org

Management : Sarcoma

Chemotherapy: It is generally done to shrink the size of tumor and to treat any cancerous cells that may have spread.

Surgery: Following chemotherapy, surgery may be carried out to remove the section of cancerous bone. In many cases, it is possible to reconstruct the bone that has been removed. This is known as limb-sparing surgery. Following surgery, further chemotherapy treatment may be given to destroy any remaining cancerous cells.

Radiotherapy: It is also used for treatment and is particularly helpful for some types of cancer (such as Ewing s sarcoma).

Reference: www.nhs.uk