A sign of soft tissue sarcoma is a lump or swelling in soft tissue of the body. A sarcoma may appear as a painless lump under the skin, often on an arm or a leg. Sarcomas that begin in the abdomen may not cause signs or symptoms until they get very big.
A sarcoma is a type of cancer that starts in tissues like bone or muscle. Bone and soft tissue sarcomas are the main types of sarcoma. Soft tissue sarcomas can develop in soft tissues like fat, muscle, nerves, fibrous tissues, blood vessels, or deep skin tissues. They can be found in any part of the body.
Patients with a suspected bone sarcoma and characteristic radiographic imaging should also prompt urgent referral to a specialist centre. Suspect symptoms include: bone pain (or tenderness) of increasing intensity or that is unexplained/persistent, or an unexplained limp/pathological fracture.
Since sarcomas can be mistaken for a benign tumor, a hematoma, an abscess or simply a lump of fat, it may sometimes be diagnosed at a late stage.
Red flag symptoms
One of the key symptoms for sarcoma is a visible lump or swelling, possibly painful, that is growing in size. General practice is usually the first place where patients present with a visible lump that may be sarcoma (usually appearing on the leg, arm or trunk).
If your lump has visibly grown, especially relatively rapidly, Dr. Weber recommends getting it evaluated. And anything that's progressed to the size of a golf ball requires immediate attention. On the other hand, if it's remained about the same size over a few weeks to months, it's most likely not a sarcoma.
The guidlines say that your GP should arrange an ultrasound scan within 2 weeks if you have an unexplained lump that is increasing in size or directly refer you to the specialist. You should then see a specialist within 2 weeks if the results of the scan are uncertain, or look like you might have a soft tissue sarcoma.
Stage 1A: The tumor is smaller than 5 cm (2 inches) across and has not spread to the lymph nodes or to distant sites. At this stage of soft tissue sarcoma, the cancer is considered grade 1, or it cannot be assessed. Stage 1B: The tumor is larger than 5 cm across and has not spread to the lymph nodes or distant sites.
Synovial sarcoma symptoms develop over time. Tumors can grow undetected for as long as two years.
There are no blood tests that can detect a soft tissue sarcoma. Blood tests can: check your general health, including how well your liver and kidneys are working.
Biopsy and tissue tests. Imaging tests may suggest the diagnosis of sarcoma, but a biopsy will be needed to confirm the diagnosis and to find out the type of sarcoma.
A soft tissue sarcoma lump on the outside of the body can appear suddenly as a rounded mass beneath the skin, usually on your arm, leg, chest, or torso. It can be soft or firm and grows noticeably bigger in weeks and months after it is first discovered.
As soft tissue sarcomas can develop in most parts of the body, they can cause a wide range of symptoms. For example, a tumour near the stomach may cause abdominal (tummy) pain, a feeling of fullness and constipation, whereas a tumour near the lungs may cause a cough or breathlessness.
Soft tissue sarcomas can develop in people of all ages, but like most cancers, the risk increases as we get older. Around 40 in 100 soft tissue sarcomas (40%) are diagnosed in people aged 65 or older. Sarcoma can develop in children and young people.
The frequency of soft tissue sarcomas increases with age: these tumors develop mainly in adults around the age of 50, but may occur at any age, and 10% of patients are children and adolescents.
If the sarcoma is found at an early stage and has not spread from where it started, surgical treatment is often very effective and many people are cured. However, if the sarcoma has spread to other parts of the body, treatment can usually control the tumor but not cure it.
Survival for all stages and types of soft tissue sarcomas
45 out of 100 people (45%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more after diagnosis.
The growth rate of soft-tissue sarcoma is highly variable, but in general it will grow noticeably over weeks to months. Any mass that grows in this time frame needs urgent medical evaluation. Even a mass that grows slowly over years should still be evaluated to determine if cancer is present.
Soft tissue sarcoma is rare. Around 1600 Australians are diagnosed with a soft tissue sarcoma each year (about 6 cases per 100,000 people).
A sign of soft tissue sarcoma is a lump or swelling in soft tissue of the body. A sarcoma may appear as a painless lump under the skin, often on an arm or a leg. Sarcomas that begin in the abdomen may not cause signs or symptoms until they get very big.
Imaging Tests
X-ray of an area with a suspicious lump may be the first test your doctor orders. After diagnosis they may recommend a chest X-ray to see if the cancer has spread to the lungs. CT (computed tomography) scan takes data from several X-ray images of the body and converts them into pictures on a monitor.
Sarcoma Symptoms
Their growth may cause pain, a feeling of fullness or breathing problems. The most common symptoms of bone sarcomas include the following: Pain and/or swelling in an arm or leg, the trunk, the pelvis or the back; swelling may or may not feel warm to the touch. A limited range of motion in a joint.
Some sarcomas may feel like a painless lump under your skin, while others don't cause pain until they grow large enough to press on an organ. Other sarcomas can cause long-lasting bone pain or swelling in your arm or leg that worsens at night. These changes may limit your movement.
Certain types occur more often in certain parts of the body more often than others. For example, leiomyosarcomas are the most common type of sarcoma found in the abdomen (belly), while liposarcomas and undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcomas are most common in legs.