Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Abstract

Sarcomas are malignant tumors of mesenchymal cell origin. They are named after the normal tissue they resemble, e.g., rhabdomyosarcoma from skeletal muscle, leiomyosarcoma from smooth muscle, fibrosarcoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma from connective tissue, liposarcoma from fatty tissue, angiosarcoma from blood vessels, synovial sarcoma from synovial tissue, and neurofibrosarcoma from nerve tissue. Other rare soft tissue sarcomas include extraosseous Ewing’s tumor, peripheral neuroectodermal tumors, epithelioid sarcoma, hemangiopericytoma, and alveolar soft part sarcoma. Soft tissue sarcomas comprise of a great variety of tumors. These tumors are broadly classified as rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) and non-rhabdomyosarcoma soft tissue sarcomas (NRSTS). NRSTS comprises of a heterogenous group of tumors like synovial sarcoma, fibrosarcoma, and desmoplastic round cell tumor. RMS is the most common sarcoma in children and is discussed in detail here.