If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma, you’re probably filled with questions. Just what is soft tissue sarcoma? What causes this form of cancer? How is it treated? How fast does it spread? Will I get better?
The good news is that soft tissue sarcoma is highly treatable. If tumors are identified before they spread, the five-year survival rate for soft tissue sarcoma is 81%. Advanced soft tissue sarcoma treatment options, such as those offered at Capital Health Cancer Center, have the potential to push those numbers even higher.
What Is Soft Tissue Sarcoma?
Soft tissue sarcoma is a broad name for malignant tumors, or cancers, that grow in the soft tissues of your body. These tissues include tumors in the:
- Blood vessels
- Fat
- Joint tissues, such as cartilage
- Lymph nodes
- Muscles
- Nerves
- Tendons
There are dozens of types of soft tissue sarcomas. Common types include:
- Desmoid tumors, noncancerous tumors that develop in connective tissue
- Fibrosarcoma, which develops in connective tissues in your belly, pelvis, arms and legs
- Gastrointestinal stromal tumors, which start in specialized cells in the walls of the stomach and intestines
- Leiomyosarcoma, which grows in smooth muscle tissue
- Liposarcoma, which begins in fat cells
- Synovial sarcoma, which affects soft tissues around joints as well as the lungs or belly
If you have soft tissue sarcoma, you may first notice a lump on your arm or leg that develops over weeks or months. You might not feel a lump with sarcomas in your abdomen, but they often press against internal organs. This can cause pain or digestive problems.
If your doctor suspects you have soft tissue sarcoma, they may use diagnostic imaging such as CT, MRI, positron emission tomography (PET) or ultrasound to get a better look at your tumor. A core needle biopsy, or tissue sample, will show whether your tumor is a sarcoma, another type of cancer or a benign (noncancerous) growth.
Soft tissue sarcomas are staged according to their size, whether they have spread to lymph nodes and beyond, and how different the cancer cells are from normal cells.
Surgery for Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Primary soft tissue sarcoma treatment involves removing the tumor surgically. Surgical oncologists use the latest imaging technologies to determine your tumor’s size and location. Then they remove it carefully, taking as much tissue around the tumor as possible to be sure no cancer cells are left in your body.
In addition to being a primary treatment for soft tissue sarcoma, surgery may be used to remove tumors that return.
At Capital Health Cancer Center, we use minimally invasive approaches when possible, working with tiny instruments through small incisions to limit the pain and scarring you experience.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy involves using high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. Types of radiation therapy used for soft tissue sarcoma include:
- External-beam radiation therapy: You receive therapy externally (from outside your body) regularly for several weeks. Your radiation oncologist uses imaging studies to target therapy to your tumor while limiting damage to healthy cells.
- Intraoperative radiation therapy: You receive a single high dose of radiation while your incision is still open during surgery.
- Brachytherapy: For this type of internal radiation therapy, pellets containing radiation are placed inside the body through a catheter, or thin tube, delivering radiation directly to the cancer site.
You may receive radiation therapy for several reasons, depending on the grade of your cancer and how far it has progressed.
Before or After Surgery
You may receive radiation therapy before surgery to shrink your tumor or after surgery to make sure no cancerous cells remain.
Standalone Treatment
If your sarcoma is where it can’t be removed surgically, a radiation oncologist may use radiation therapy to kill cancer cells and slow tumor growth.
Treating Advanced Soft-Tissue Sarcomas
If soft tissue sarcoma returns, doctors cannot always treat it surgically. Instead, radiation therapy may be used to shrink tumors and slow cancer growth. Radiation may also be used to relieve symptoms that cause you discomfort.
Systemic Therapies for Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Unlike surgery and radiation, which focus on specific areas of your body, systemic therapies are medications that target cancer cells throughout your body. Chemotherapy, targeted therapies and immunotherapy are examples of systemic therapies.
Chemotherapy
Like radiation therapy, you may receive chemotherapy as a standalone treatment or alongside other soft tissue sarcoma treatments. Researchers are constantly looking for new, more effective chemotherapy drugs and combinations.
One form of chemotherapy for soft tissue sarcoma, isolated limb perfusion, involves isolating the blood flow of just one arm or leg from the rest of your circulation. You then receive high-dose chemotherapy into only that limb. Doctors may use this intensive treatment to avoid having to amputate that arm or leg.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy, a form of precision medicine, stimulates your body’s immune system to fight cancer. This is a highly personalized treatment that involves genetic testing to understand your cancer’s biomarkers, or protein changes. Your doctors will look for changes that can be targeted with immunotherapy, which is then delivered in pill or infusion form.
Targeted Therapies
Targeted therapies, as the name suggests, target specific features of cancerous cells, such as their ability to replicate (make more of themselves). Like immunotherapy, targeted therapies are extremely specific. Doctors will test your tumor cells to understand their biomarkers and see whether effective targeted therapies are available.
Immunotherapy and targeted therapies can have significant side effects. However, these treatments have the potential to allow people with soft tissue sarcoma to live longer than with traditional options alone.
Your Treatment Journey
A soft tissue sarcoma diagnosis can come as a surprise. You may feel as though you have to make decisions quickly while under a great deal of stress.
Preparing for Treatment
While you will likely need to start treatment as quickly as possible, Capital Health’s navigation teams can help you with scheduling, education about your diagnosis and treatment options, and other resources you may need. Our compassionate nurse navigators will stay in close contact to help you understand your disease and treatment options.
During Your Treatment
Soft tissue sarcoma comes in many different forms. Your needs and preferences are unique, too. Your cancer treatment journey won’t look like anyone else’s. Whatever your needs, Capital Health Cancer Center offers supportive care services—such as nutrition counseling, nurse navigators, oncology social work, support groups, wellness programs, and more—to provide comprehensive support throughout treatment and recovery.
Successful Recovery
Because soft tissue sarcomas may return even 10 or 15 years in the future, you will need to visit your cancer care team regularly after your treatment ends. They will monitor you for signs of cancer recurrence. You may also participate in a survivorship program to support your recovery and long-term outcomes.
The Bottom Line
A soft tissue sarcoma diagnosis can feel daunting. At Capital Health Cancer Center, we work with you to help you understand your disease and treatment options, including:
- Surgery
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
- Immunotherapy
- Targeted therapy
With access to clinical trials and a dedicated navigation team, we guide you through the treatment journey and beyond.
Facing a soft tissue sarcoma diagnosis? Make an appointment with a Capital Health Cancer Center oncologist.