soft tissue sarcoma

sarcoma /sar·co·ma/ (sahr-ko´mah) pl. sarcomas, sarco´mata   any of a group of tumors usually arising from connective tissue, although the term now includes some of epithelial origin; most are malignant.

---

alveolar soft part sarcoma  a well-circumscribed, painless, highly metastatic neoplasm with a distinctive alveolar pattern, usually in the limbs, head, and neck of young adults.

ameloblastic sarcoma  see under fibrosarcoma.

botryoid sarcoma , sarcoma botryoi´des an embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma arising in submucosal tissue, usually in the upper vagina, cervix uteri, or neck of urinary bladder in young children and infants, presenting grossly as a polypoid grapelike structure.

clear cell sarcoma of kidney  a malignant kidney tumor similar to Wilms' tumor but with poorer prognosis, often metastasizing to bone.

endometrial stromal sarcoma  a pale, polypoid, fleshy, malignant tumor of the endometrial stroma.

Ewing's sarcoma  a highly malignant, metastatic, primitive small round cell tumor of bone, usually in the diaphyses of long bones, ribs, and flat bones of children and adolescents.

giant cell sarcoma 

1. a form of giant cell tumor of bone arising malignant de novo rather than transforming to malignancy.

2. sarcoma characterized by large anaplastic (giant) cells.

hemangioendothelial sarcoma  hemangiosarcoma.

immunoblastic sarcoma of B cells  large cell immunoblastic lymphoma composed predominantly of B cells.

immunoblastic sarcoma of T cells  large cell immunoblastic lymphoma composed predominantly of T cells.

Kaposi sarcoma  a multicentric, malignant neoplastic vascular proliferation, characterized by the development of bluish-red nodules on the skin, sometimes with widespread visceral involvement; a particularly virulent, disseminated form occurs in immunocompromised patients.

Kupffer cell sarcoma  hepatic angiosarcoma.

osteogenic sarcoma  osteosarcoma.

pseudo–Kaposi sarcoma  unilateral subacute to chronic dermatitis occurring in association with an underlying arteriovenous fistula and closely resembling Kaposi's sarcoma clinically and histologically.

reticulum cell sarcoma  histiocytic lymphoma.

Rous sarcoma  a virus-induced sarcoma-like growth of fowls.

soft tissue sarcoma  a general term for a malignant tumor derived from extraskeletal connective tissue, including fibrous, fat, smooth muscle, nerve, vascular, histiocytic, and synovial tissue, with almost all lesions arising from primitive mesoderm.

spindle cell sarcoma 

1. any sarcoma composed of spindle-shaped cells.

2. a type of soft tissue sarcoma whose cells are spindle-shaped and which is usually resistant to radiation therapy.

---

soft tissue sarcoma

Oncology A sarcoma that arises in muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, or other supporting tissues. See Sarcoma.

Soft tissue sarcoma staging

I A Tumor cells are morphologically similar to normal cells; tumor measures ≤ 5 cm

 B Ditto; tumor ≥ 5 cm

II A Tumor cells are mildly atypical; tumor measures ≤ 5 cm

 B Ditto; tumor ≥ 5 cm

III A Tumor cells are moderately or severely atypical/bizarre; tumor measures ≤ 5 cm

 B Ditto; tumor ≥ 5 cm

IV A Any cellular atypia; any sized tumor with lymph node involvement

 B Any cellular atypia; any sized tumor with metastasis