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Soft tissue sarcoma

Etiology: • Unknown.

Pathogenesis: • Tumors may cause symptoms due to direct extension, or due to erosion of local tissues.

Epidemiology: • Incidence of soft tissue tumors has not been adequately determined. • Much less common than epithelial tumors. • In many centers, sarcomas represent approximately 1% of all malignancies.

General Gross Description: • Sarcomas are tumors that arise from the connective tissues, including osteoblasts, chondroblasts, fibroblasts, lipoblasts, and other cells of mesenchymal origin. • Sarcomas are so-called because of their fleshy (from the Greek prefix, "sar" meaning fleshy) appearance.

General Microscopic Description: • Most sarcomas resemble the tissue of origin. • Thus, osteosarcomas are composed of cells that resemble osteoblasts and contain malignant osteoids and other matrix components. • Similarly, chrondrosarcomas resemble cartilage; liposarcomas resemble fat cells and so on. • In this specific tumor, the tumor was so anaplastic that the specific cell of origin could not determined.

Clinical Correlations: • The clinical features of a sarcoma depend upon the site of origin. • Thus, many liposarcomas and fibrosarcomas may present as painless masses. • Osteosarcomas often cause destruction of bone and may present as pathological fractures. • Sarcomas usually metastasize through the vascular tree or by direct extension.

References: •Robbins "Pathologic Basis of Disease". (Cotran, Kumar and Robbins, Eds.) 5th Edition. pp 242.