What Is Sarcoma?

Sarcoma is a term describing a wide range of cancers that originate either in the bone or in soft tissues, tissues surrounding organs or connecting other tissues. Soft tissues are extremely abundant ranging from muscles to tendons to nerves. Sarcoma develops when the cells in these connective tissues begin to grow out of control developing into a tumor.

To understand how broad and overarching the term sarcoma is, it must be understood that there are over 70 different types of sarcoma. For example, osteosarcoma is a type of sarcoma which begins in the cells forming the bone. Another type of sarcoma is fibrosarcoma which develops from cells in fibrous tissue.

The causes of sarcoma are currently unknown. However, DNA mutations are likely one of the causes. DNA mutations are involved in many types of cancer as they can cause cells to divide and grow uncontrollably causing tumors to form. Some of the more common DNA mutations are those in the p53 (controls mitosis), RB( tumor suppressor), P13K (cell growth), and IDH (create energy) genes. In terms of sarcoma, most DNA mutations involved are actually acquired rather than inherited. Therefore, it is likely that risk factors such as exposure to chemicals, viruses, and cancer radiation therapy play a role in causing the DNA mutations associated with sarcoma, increasing one’s likelihood of developing the cancer. Another risk factor is inherited syndromes which could increase one’s likelihood of developing this cancer. One example of an inherited syndrome increasing one’s likelihood of developing sarcoma is La-Fraumeni Syndrome which results in 10% to 20% of people with the syndrome to develop sarcoma.