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Soft tissue sarcomas are a group of cancers that develop in the soft tissues surrounding, connecting or supporting the body’s structures and organs. These tissues include muscles, joints, tendons, fat, skin, blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue.
The most common locations of soft tissue sarcomas are the arms and legs. However, they can also grow in the head, neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis. Soft tissue sarcoma can occur in children and adults.
Types of Soft Tissue Sarcomas:
- Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common childhood soft tissue sarcoma. It grows in the muscles attached to the skeleton.
- Liposarcoma (Fat tissue tumours) in children is usually low grade and grows slowly. The most common type is called myxoid liposarcoma.
- Desmoid tumours (Connective tissue tumours)generally develop slowly and is unlikely to spread to other parts of the body.
- Fibrosarcoma (Connective tissue tumours), is usually found in infants and toddlers up to four years of age. Tumours are large and grow quickly, but they usually do not spread.
- Leiomyosarcoma (Muscle tumours) is associated with the Epstein-Barr virus in children with HIV
- Fibrohistiocytic tumours (Skin tumours): They begin as a painless mass on or under the skin of the arm, hand or wrist.
- Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours (Nerve tumours) grow in the covering of nerves outside the brain and spinal cord.
- Synovial sarcoma tumours are found in the joints of the legs or arms, or in the head, neck or trunk joints.
- Angiosarcomas (Blood vessel tumours)grow quickly in lymph or blood vessels.
- Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (benign blood vessel tumours)usually develop in infants in the liver.