Raising Awareness About Sarcoma And Effective Treatment Modalities
Sarcomas are rare cancers that originate in the bones and soft tissues, including fat, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, deep skin tissues, and fibrous tissues. According to the National Cancer Institute, about 12,000 cases of soft tissue sarcomas, and 3,000 cases of bone sarcomas are diagnosed in the U.S. each year.
Sarcoma Peoria department can benefit you from exceptional diagnostics and comprehensive treatments for sarcoma.
An insight into sarcoma
Sarcoma is a term given to a group of tumors that develop in bone and or soft tissues. These tumors are most common in bones, muscles, tendons, cartilage, nerves, fat, and blood vessels.
Examples of these cancers include:
- Chondrosarcoma
- Angiosarcoma
- Epithelioid sarcoma
- Ewing sarcoma
- Gastrointestinal stromal tumor
- Osteosarcoma
- Synovial sarcoma
Contributing elements for sarcoma
Immature bone or soft tissue cells give way to sarcomas due to changes (mutations) in the DNA. The cells multiply abnormally, proliferating rapidly. This results in the development of a mass or tumor that can invade nearby healthy tissues. If left untreated, these cells can dislodge and spread (metastasis) to other organs.
There are certain risk factors that increase your likelihood of developing sarcomas. These include:
- Exposure to chemicals
- Exposure to high doses of radiation
- Long-term swelling in arms and legs
- Genetic conditions like retinoblastoma, Gardner syndrome, and Werner syndrome
- Smoking
- Human papillomavirus (HPV)
- Human herpesvirus 8
Clinical features describing a sarcoma
You may notice the following symptoms for sarcomas:
- A lump under your skin with or without pain
- Bone pain or swelling in your extremities or abdomen/pelvis that worsens at night
- A limp or limited range of motion in your extremities
- Unexplained weight loss
- Back pain
Intervention and modalities for sarcoma
Your treatment depends on the type, its extent, size, and location of sarcoma. Options include:
Surgery: This involves the removal of the tumor mass, sparing as much as healthy tissues as possible. You may require limb amputation in severe cases, followed by tissue or limb reconstruction.
Radiation therapy: This therapy uses high-dose focused energy that destroys the cancer cells, or implants radioactive seeds in your body (brachytherapy) for a specific period of time.
Chemotherapy: This involves injecting high-concentration chemicals through IV (intravenous) infusion to kill cancer cells.
Targeted therapy: Uses special medicines that focus on specific cancer cell weaknesses.
Immunotherapy: The drugs used in immunotherapy strengthen your immune system to fight cancer cells better.
Ablation therapy: Ablation destroys cancer cells through the process of heatingor freezing the cells or using high-frequency ultrasound waves.
Takeaway
Sarcoma is not just one type of cancer, instead, it refers to multiple types of abnormal growths in your bones or soft tissue. Treatment for sarcomas depends on several factors that are best determined by your doctor to develop a customized treatment plan.
