Library · Neoplasm
Soft tissue sarcoma
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Soft tissue sarcoma is a cancer that starts in the body's soft tissues. That's the name for the tissues that connect, support, and surround everything else: muscles, fat, nerves (the wiring that carries signals), and blood vessels (the tubes blood flows through). If your body were a house, the soft tissues would be the plumbing, the wiring, and the insulation inside the walls: the stuff that holds everything together and wraps around it.
When doctors look at the tumor under a microscope, they give it a grade, which works a bit like a score. The grade depends on how abnormal the cells look, meaning how different they are from healthy cells, and on how quickly they divide, meaning how fast each cell splits to make new ones. High-grade sarcomas usually grow and spread (that is, reach other parts of the body) faster than low-grade ones.
A soft tissue sarcoma may show up as a lump under the skin that doesn't hurt, often on an arm or a leg. As it grows, it pushes on whatever is around it: nearby organs, nerves, muscles, or blood vessels. Picture a balloon slowly inflating inside a packed drawer, squeezing everything stored in there.
In brief
Soft tissue sarcoma is a cancer of the tissues that connect, support, and surround other parts of the body, such as muscles, fat, blood vessels, and nerves.
Its grade depends on how abnormal its cells look under a microscope and how quickly they divide; high-grade sarcomas usually grow and spread faster than low-grade ones.
It may show up as a painless lump under the skin, often on an arm or leg, and as it grows, it presses on nearby organs, nerves, muscles, or blood vessels.
Sources (1)
- National Cancer Institute (NCI), PDQ Adult Treatment Editorial BoardSoft Tissue Sarcoma Treatment (PDQ®): Patient VersionPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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