Different Sarcomas And Their Features

There are several types of sarcoma, so it is quite a diverse and manifested disease in many different ways. Sometimes it manifests as nodules under the skin and sometimes again as bone pain, bloating or weight loss, for example. In this article, we introduce different sarcomas and their features.

According to the American Cancer Society, sarcoma is a type of cancer that spreads through soft tissue and bone tissue, from adipose tissue to the nervous system, bones, and muscles.

Sarcoma is not common. In fact, several studies show that osteosarcoma (a tumor in the skeleton) covers only 0.2% of all malignancies. This means that its annual incidence is about three cases per million people.

About cancer and its incidence

You can’t talk about sarcoma without first knowing some basics about cancer. Cancer is characterized by an uncontrolled division of cells in some parts of the body, which gives rise to tumors. These often spread to other parts of the body due to a process known as metastasis.

The Spanish Society of Oncology reports updated data on the global incidence of cancer:

• In 2018, 18 million cancers were diagnosed worldwide, of which 11.6% were due to a malignancy of the lung.
• Uterine cancer was diagnosed the least (2.1%), although 24.6% of cancer cases were due to even rarer cancers (they were not counted as their own types of cancer).
• The number of cancer cases per year is on the rise, with estimates showing that nearly 30 million people will have a malignant tumor by 2040 (63% more than in 2018).

As can be seen from this, the readings are worrying. For this reason, we need to know every type of cancer, no matter how rare, in order to cure more and more people worldwide.

Various sarcomas

As mentioned above, all different sarcomas are malignant tumors that originate from bone or soft tissues. According to statistics,  they cover 20% of cancers in children and less than 1% of cancers in adults.

Susceptibility to this disease depends on genetic and environmental factors as well as the interaction between the two. However, its exact causes are not yet known. According to a 2007 article in the journal ScienceDirect , there are several types of sarcoma. Below we present the different sarcomas.

Liposarcoma

This is the most common form of sarcoma and accounts for 20% of sarcoma cases in the United States. Liposarcoma occurs in fat cells in any part of the body, most commonly in the adipose tissue of the limbs or abdomen.

It is quite clearly noticeable as it manifests as a growing nodule under the skin, pain and weakness of the limb in question. Abdominal tumors, on the other hand, manifest as constipation, swelling, and pain, among other things.

The most common treatments are tumor removal with surgery and radiation therapy. There are several different types of liposarcoma depending on their form. Liposarcoma usually does not transmit metastases and can only be treated with surgery.

Different sarcomas: Leiomyosarcoma

According to Sarcomahelp.org, leiomyosarcoma comes from smooth muscle cells – usually the uterus or gastrointestinal tissue. This type of sarcoma covers 5-10% of all soft tissue sarcomas, making it one of the most common.

According to the sources mentioned above, leiomyosarcoma is more common after the ages of 50 and 60 and in women. Several studies show that  gemcitabine is effective in more than half of the patients.

Synovial sarcoma

Such sarcoma is less common and usually occurs near the joints (especially in the knees) in young adults. Its main feature is a slow-growing, deep nodule that can be tender or sore to the touch.

Studies reveal that this type of cancer is associated with chromosomal alterations, i.e., it is associated with a significant genetic component. Like liposarcoma, the best treatment is surgery.

Other types of sarcomas

We went through the three main types of sarcoma above, but  other types of sarcoma are also worth mentioning. Some of them are:

• Angiosarcoma that occurs in the walls of blood vessels or lymphatics.
• Kaposi’s sarcoma causes pink nodules under the skin or, in rare cases, on the oral mucosa. It often occurs in people with a weakened immune system, such as AIDS patients.
• Rhabdomyosarcoma is a malignant tumor of the striated muscles. It is, in fact, the most common childhood sarcoma:  it occurs in four out of every million children.
• Osteosarcoma is bone cancer.

Thus, there are as many sarcomas as there are human tissues, i.e. this list is exhaustive. The most important thing to keep in mind is that it is a malignant tumor that can vary in location.

Different sarcomas: what to remember

Sarcoma can grow in both hard and soft body tissues. Therefore,  there are several different ones that manifest with their own symptoms depending on the location of the tumor.

Early detection is also critical to patient survival in this cancer. So see a doctor right away if you have a suspected nodule or unexplained pain.