What Is Sarcoma?
Sarcoma can form anywhere in the body at any age.
Sarcoma is a rare and complex cancer (malignant tumour) arising from the bone, cartilage or soft tissues such as fat, muscle, connective tissue or blood vessels.
Sarcomas can form anywhere in the body and are frequently hidden deep in the limbs. They are often misdiagnosed as a benign (non-cancerous) lump, or as a sporting injury or growing pains in young people.
There are more than 100 different subtypes of sarcoma, many of which have distinct clinical characteristics with unique natural history and tumour biology.
Sarcomas are divided into three main types:
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma
- Bone Sarcoma (also known as Primary Bone Cancer)
- Gastro-Intestinal stromal sarcoma (GIST); A soft tissue sarcoma found in the stomach and intestines
What are the symptoms?
Commonly a lump that is growing or changing
Swelling, tenderness or pain in the bone that can be worse at night
Loss of appetite or feeling full after a small amount of food
Stomach pain
Feeling sick
Blood in your poo or vomit
What causes sarcoma?
We don’t fully understand why sarcomas happen. More research is needed to understand how sarcomas develop. There are a few things that can increase the risk of sarcoma:
Genetic conditions
- some rare genetic conditions can increase your risk of sarcoma. For example Neurofibromatosis or Li-Fraumeni syndrome.
Previous radiotherapy
- very rarely some people who have have radiation for another type of cancer may develop a sarcoma many years later
Age
- although people can get sarcoma at any age, the risk increases as we get older
Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Soft tissue sarcomas are cancers that begin in the supportive tissues such as muscle, nerves, tendons, blood vessels and fatty tissues
There are many different types of soft tissue sarcoma which commonly affect the arms, legs and trunk.
You can find more out about some of these subtypes below. See our ‘Patient Resources’ page where you can download booklets on some types of soft tissue sarcoma.
Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma
Alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma develops from the cells in skeletal muscle, and often in teenagers and young adults
Alveolar soft part sarcoma
A very rare sarcoma that can occur anywhere throughout the body
Angiosarcoma
Develops from the cells that make up the walls of blood vessels
Clear Cell sarcoma
Often occurs in the hands or the legs, usually around the ankles, knees and feet
Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans
DFSP is a rare tumour that develops in the dermis, the middle layer of the skin
Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma
EHE is a very rare soft tissue sarcoma that develops from the cells lining the blood vessels
Epithelioid Haemangioendothelioma
Often occurs in the hands or the legs, usually around the ankles, knees and feet
Epithelioid Sarcoma
A very rare type of soft tissue sarcoma
Fibrosarcoma
A type of sarcoma affecting the fibrous connective tissues in the body
Gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST)
GIST is a type of sarcoma that can develop in the gastroinestinal tract
Gynaecological sarcoma
DFSP is a rare tumour that develops in the dermis, the middle layer of the skin
Intimal sarcoma
A very rare type of soft tissue sarcoma that develops from the cells in the large blood vessels including the heart
Kaposi’s sarcoma
GIST is a type of sarcoma that can develop in the gastroinestinal tract
Leiomyosarcoma
A type of sarcoma that develops in the smooth muscle cells
Liposarcoma
A sarcoma that develops from the fat cells in the body
Retroperitoneal sarcoma
These sarcomas occur in the back of the abdomen
Rhabdomyosarcoma
These sarcomas develop in the muscles of the body
Spindle cells sarcoma
Is a type of sarcoma that can occur anywhere in the body but commonly in the arms and legs
Synovial sarcoma
GIST is a type of sarcoma that can develop in the gastroinestinal tract
Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma
Also known as UPS, is one of the most common types of sarcoma
Bone Sarcoma
Bone sarcoma is a cancer that starts in the bone. It can affect any bone in the body but the most common place are the legs.
You can click here to find our ‘Understanding Bone Sarcoma’ booklet.
The four most common types of bone sarcoma are:
Chondrosarcoma
Chondrosarcoma develops in the cartilage cells. Mostly, it affects adults above the age of 40 in the upper arm, pelvis and thigh bone. Chondrosarcoma make up 37% of all bone sarcoma diagnoses.
Osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma is mostly diagnosed in teenagers and young people but it can affect older adults. It mostly affects the knee, thigh bone, shin bone or upper arm. Osteosarcoma makes up 30% of all bone sarcoma diagnoses.
Ewings Sarcoma
Ewings sarcoma commonly affects teenagers and young adults in the pelvis, thigh bone and shin bone. In rare cases Ewings sarcoma can develop in the soft tissue. Ewings sarcoma makes up 14% of all bone sarcomas.
Chordoma
