Sarcoma Cancer Statistics 

About 15,000 people in the U.S. will develop soft tissue sarcomas this year. Of these, approximately 6,290 will be males and 5,120 will be females.

What causes Sarcoma Cancer? 

Doctors don't know a lot about what causes soft tissue sarcoma. They do know, however, that injuries do not cause the disease. Because these tumors are rare, if you have soft tissue sarcoma, it is a good idea to seek the care of a specialist who knows about sarcomas and can discuss treatment options with you and your family.

What are early symptoms of Sarcoma Cancer? 

Sarcomas can originate from nearly any location of the body as humans have connective tissue distributed throughout their bodies. As such, sarcomas have been documented to start from nearly any part of the body. The most common presentation of a sarcoma is notation of a lump or bump in the extremities or abdomen that does not go away over a period of weeks to months. Other common symptoms that you should seek medical attention for include:

• Stomach pain and vomiting
• A full feeling after not eating very much
• Blood in the stool (a red or tar-like black stool)
• Lack of appetite or weight loss

These symptoms may be the result of soft tissue sarcoma. They may also be symptoms of less serious illnesses. If you have any of these symptoms, see a health care provider right away.

How does my doctor know I have Sarcoma Cancer? 

If you feel a lump or experience symptoms that might be caused by a soft tissue sarcoma, you should report them immediately to your doctor. Your doctor will attempt to find out what is causing the symptoms by asking you about the history of the symptoms. If your lump is painful, for instance, your doctor will want to know about the pain, including when it started and if there are things that make it worse. The doctor may also ask about possible risk factors, such as your family history. 

The doctor will also do a careful physical exam. If you have a lump, your doctor will determine its size and shape and the effect it has had on surrounding areas. Depending on what your lump feels like and where it is, your doctor may order a biopsy to obtain a sample of the tissue in the lump. This will determine if the lump is a soft tissue sarcoma. Once the biopsy is done, your doctor may do one or more of these tests to obtain additional information:

Ultrasound. An ultrasound uses sound waves to determine whether a lump or mass is solid or if it is filled with fluid. Fluid-filled masses, called cysts, are much less likely to be a sarcoma.  

Computed tomography (CT scan). In this test, an X-ray beam takes pictures of the body from different angles. These pictures are combined in a computer to produce a more detailed picture of the inside of your body.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This test shows soft tissues better than a CT scan. In this test, large magnets and radio waves produce detailed pictures of the inside of your body.

Chest X-ray. This is a common test to look for possible spread of sarcoma to the lungs.

Positron emission tomography (PET) scan. This test uses a very small amount of a radioactive sugar to look for areas of activity in the body that might be caused by a tumor. The results of this test are not detailed like a CT or MRI scan, but newer machines can combine PET and CT scans to give a more detailed picture of activity in the body.

These tests can help show if there is a growth, where it is, and sometimes whether it has spread. On occasion, 1 or more of these tests may be done prior to a biopsy. Your doctor may use the results to determine the cause of the problem, or he or she may order more tests. If your doctor does not order a test, it is OK to ask why it is not necessary.

What does Classification and Staging of my Sarcoma Cancer mean?

A pathologist is a specialized doctor who looks at tissue samples under a microscope to determine whether they are cancerous or not. The tissue samples are removed during a biopsy. If your doctor suspects a sarcoma, it is important to be sure that a pathologist who is an expert in sarcoma pathology reviews your tissue as well. Since there are not that many expert pathologists in the United States who specialize in sarcoma pathology, you may need to request a specialized pathology review.

Pathologists determine the specific type of sarcoma you have. They also determine the grade of your tumor. The grade tells your doctor how your cancer may behave or how likely it is to spread to other parts of the body. Sarcomas are graded on a scale from G1 to G3. A low-grade (G1) tumor closely resembles normal cells. A high-grade (G3) tumor may spread more readily to other parts of the body. Medium-grade (G2) tumors are somewhere in between. 

In addition to your tumor’s grade, doctors need to determine the stage of your sarcoma. The staging system takes into account the size and location of your original tumor and whether the tumor has spread to nearby lymph nodes or other parts of your body. For sarcomas, the grade is also an important part of the staging system.

These are the American Joint Committee on Cancer stages for soft tissue sarcoma:

Stage IA. The cancer is low-grade and not larger than 5 centimeters (cm), or about 2 inches, across. It has not spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body.

Stage IB.  The cancer is low-grade and is larger than 5 cm across. It has not spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body. 

Stage IIA. The cancer is medium- or high-grade and not larger than 5 cm across. It has not spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body.

Stage IIB. The cancer is medium-grade and larger than 5 cm across. It has not spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body.

Stage III. The cancer is high-grade and larger than 5 cm across. It has not spread to the lymph nodes or other parts of the body. Or the cancer is any size or grade, but it has spread to the lymph nodes (and not to distant parts of the body).

Stage IV. The cancer is any size or grade and may or may not have spread to the lymph nodes, but it has spread to distant parts of the body.

What are treatments for Sarcoma Cancer?

Treatment of soft tissue sarcomas should be carried out at a sarcoma referral center by a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, medical oncologists and radiation oncologists. Treatment for soft tissue sarcomas may be either local or systemic. Local treatments remove, destroy, or control the cancer cells in one certain area. Surgery and radiation therapy are local treatments. Systemic treatments are used to destroy or control cancer cells throughout the whole body. Chemotherapy is a systemic treatment. You may have just 1 treatment or a combination of treatments.

Each type of treatment has a different goal:

Surgery. Surgery is the usual treatment for soft tissue sarcomas. The goal of surgery is to remove the whole tumor or as much of it as possible. At the same time, the goal is to preserve as much as possible of the affected body part in order to maintain normal function. The size of the tumor generally determines whether surgery alone will be used for treatment. Tumors larger than a certain size will most likely also be treated with radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy, either before or after surgery.

Radiation therapy. Also called radiotherapy, the goal of this treatment is to kill cancer cells using powerful energy from radiation beams or other sources. This treatment may be used to shrink a tumor before surgery or to kill cancer cells that may remain after surgery. Radiation therapy may be used before, during, and/or after surgery.

Chemotherapy. The goal of this treatment is to use drugs to shrink and destroy sarcoma cells. Usually, doctors inject chemotherapy drugs into the body through a vein. The blood then carries the drugs throughout the body, killing cancer cells. Less often, doctors inject drugs right into the blood vessels around the tumor. That method is not yet a standard therapy. As mentioned above, chemotherapy may be given before or after surgery. In the case of metastatic disease (cancer has spread into other parts of the body), chemotherapy may be used alone for treatment.

Doctors are always working on new ways to treat soft tissue sarcoma. They test these methods in clinical trials. Before beginning treatment, ask your doctor whether you should join any clinical trials.