What are soft tissue sarcomas?
Soft tissue sarcomas are a group of different types of malignant tumors (cancer) that arise from body tissues such as muscle, fat, blood and lymph vessels and connective tissues (that is, distinct from hard tissue such as bone or cartilage). These tumors are relatively rare. VA has defined the term “soft tissue sarcoma” to include adult fibrosarcoma; dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, liposarcoma; leiomyosarcoma; epithelioid leiomyosarcoma (malignant leiomyoblastoma); rhabdomyosarcoma; ectomesenchymoma; angiosarcoma (hemangiosarcoma and lymphangiosarcoma); proliferating (systemic) angioendotheliomatosis; malignant glomus tumor; malignant hemangiopericytoma; synovial sarcoma (malignant synovioma); malignant giant cell tumor of tendon sheath; malignant schwannoma, including malignant schwannoma with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation (malignant Triton tumor), glandular and epithelioid malignant schwannomas; malignant mesenchymoma; malignant granular cell tumor
