sarcoma

sarcoma, tumour of connective tissue (tissue that is formed from mesodermal, or mesenchymal, cells). Sarcomas are distinguished from carcinomas, which are tumours of epithelial tissues.

Sarcoma is relatively rare in adults but is one of the more common malignancies among children; it often spreads to other tissues in the body. Sarcomas are generally divided into bone and soft-tissue tumours, the latter being much less common. Because mesenchymal cells form a variety of mature tissues, tumours may have the characteristics of bone (osteosarcoma), cartilage (chondrosarcoma), muscle (myosarcoma), or blood vessels (angiosarcoma). The varieties overlap, and the name given to the sarcoma is taken from that of the most developed tissue contained within the tumour.

The most common type of bone sarcoma is osteosarcoma, which is also the most common type of primary bone cancer. It is a malignancy of immature bone (osteoid) that was highly lethal before the use of anticancer drugs, which have increased the five-year survival rate to between 60 and 80 percent for individuals whose disease is localized. The five-year survival rate for individuals with osteosarcoma that has spread (metastasized) to other sites in the body is between 15 and 30 percent.

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Specific chromosomal abnormalities are associated with some sarcomas.