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Sarcomas, rare tumors of mesenchymal tissue

Sarcomas, rare tumors of mesenchymal tissue

Top Doctors
Top Doctors editorial
Top Doctors
Created by: Top Doctors editorial
Edited by: TOP DOCTORS® at 18/03/2019

Sarcomas are divided into bone tumors and soft tissue. They are very rare tumors and should be handled by specialists in these neoplasms, which are oncologists.

Dr. Rodrigo Arrangoiz MS., MD, FACS

osteosarcoma Sarcomas are very diverse and relatively rare malignancies originating from mesenchymal tissue, such as muscle, fat, cartilage, bone, blood vessels, ligaments etc.. Osteosarcomas originate in the bones, liposarcomas originate from fat, muscle they originate rhabdomyosarcoma and Ewing's tumor originates from the bone and connective tissue. In 2015, in the United States, there were about 12,300 cases of soft tissue sarcomas and 3000 cases of bone sarcomas with 5000 deaths from this neoplasm. Sarcomas usually should be handled by medical specialists because of their rarity not many people skilled in managing this disease.

Factors that predispose to sarcoma

There is no specific cause, is a multifactorial disease that include environmental factors, such as exposure to therapeutic radiation to treat other diseases such as breast cancer. Women who were exposed to radiation for managing their breast cancer may develop in the future sarcomas of the chest wall or axillary (angiosarcoma).

In the past, certain means of contrasts that were used for imaging studies increased the risk of developing liver sarcomas (thorotrast). Exposure to vinyl chloride and other chemicals arsenic also increase the risk of developing sarcomas.

There are genetic factors involved in the development of sarcomas. Sarcomas of connective tissue is most frequently seen in patients with the following inherited syndromes, such as Von Recklinghausen disease (neurofibromatosis type 1), the Li Fraumeni syndrome (which can cause many cancers such as leukemias, osteosearcomas, breast cancer, adrenal cancer, among others), of Garner syndrome, nevoid basal carcinoma and Gorlin syndrome or.

Patients usually associate the disease to trauma because when they have a blow out on a limb and then the doctor they found a tumor in the same relate to the coup, but in reality there is no relationship.

Symptoms vary depending on the body part that affects the sarcoma

Symptoms depend on the body part that develops sarcoma. If it occurs in the extremities has a volume increase somewhere limb, with slow growth but with discomfort, they can cause pain, can cause decreased mobility of the limb. The physical examination may be painful on palpation. Diagnosis usually begins with a clinical history and complete physical examination. During the exam you can find a lump of hard consistency, irregular edges, uneven surface, are not mobile, they are fixed to adjacent structures. Sometimes they can grow quickly due to bleeding within the tumor. others because there is bleeding and grow in size. Diagnosis is by clinical features already described and suspicion is confirmed with a biopsy of the lesion. Once the diagnosis of a sarcoma confirmed should be performed staging studies including imaging studies (computed tomography with intravenous contrast the site of the lesion, MRIs site of the lesion contrast and imaging of the chest either plate ray or CT scan).

Rare tumors that should only be treated by experts in managing sarcomas

The standard treatment is the only curative surgical (wide resection of the lesion). In certain circumstances, depending on the initial staging can start neoadjuvant (before surgery) with radiation, chemotherapy or a combination of both. When treatment is required before the surgery begins with wide resection, in certain circumstances you can ask for a consultation to a reconstructive surgeon to repair the defect left for us. Depending the end result of pathology may require adjuvant treatment (after surgery) as radiation, chemotherapy or a combination of both. One of the most important in the management of these patients early is that the best opportunity for the patient to heal is the first time the right things done.

When metastasize sarcoma (malignant sends to other parts of the body cells) produces a distance, the most common site where it does it is in the lung. Part of staging sarcoma is sure there is no distant metastases, usually done with chest tomography, prognosis, like any cancer in metastatic locality decreases, but there are circumstances where you can remove these metastases and extend significantly the life of patients (with good quality) presenting with advanced disease.

If you suspect you might have a sarcoma or already diagnosed with a sarcoma what to do is go to expert management of these cancers, which are oncologists.

Pathological Anatomy