Cancer Care

Among the types of malignant soft tissue tumors we treat include:  

• Malignant Fat Tissue Tumors - Liposarcoma is a rare malignant tumor that develops from fat cells, typically in the deep fat tissue of the thigh or abdomen. Liposarcoma is the most common form of soft tissue sarcoma that occurs in adults and usually occurs between the ages of 50 and 70.  
• Malignant Muscle Tissue Tumors - Malignant muscle tumors appear when there is abnormal tissue growth located in or originating from muscle tissue. The major forms of muscle tissue tumors are leiomyomas, which occur in smooth muscles such as the walls of the intestines, and rhabdomyosarcomas, which occur in striated muscles that attach to the skeleton. 
• Malignant Peripheral Nerve Tissue Tumors - Peripheral nerve tissue tumors occur in the nerves that run throughout the body. Malignant schwannomas and neurofibrosarcomas are types of peripheral nerve tumors.
• Malignant Tumors of the Joint Tissue - Synovial sarcoma is a malignant tumor of the joint tissue, usually found in the knee and ankle joints and possibly the shoulder and hip. It tends to occur mostly in children and young adults, but also can occur in older people.

Malignant Tumors of the Blood Vessels & Lymph Vessels

Several types of malignancies can develop in the blood and lymph vessels.

• Angiosarcomas can develop either from blood vessels or from lymph vessels and can sometimes develop in a part of the body that has been exposed to radiation. Angiosarcomas can occur in the breast after radiation therapy for breast cancer or in the arm on the same side as a breast that has been irradiated or removed by mastectomy.
• Kaposi sarcoma is a cancer formed by cells similar to those lining blood or lymph vessels and is most often found in patients with a weakened immune system. Hemangiopericytoma most often develops in the legs, pelvis, and back of the abdominal cavity and most often occurs in adults.

Fibrous Tissue Tumors

There are three main types of fibrous tissue tumors:

• Fibrosarcoma usually affects the legs, arms or trunk and is most common between the ages of 20 and 60, but can occur at any age, even in infancy.
• Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a slow-growing cancer of the fibrous tissue beneath the skin, usually in the trunk or limbs.
• Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) usually occurs in the arms or legs and sometimes inside the back of the abdomen, usually in older adults.

Tumors of Uncertain Tissue Type

• Some types of soft tissue cancers cannot be directly linked to a specific type of normal soft tissue. These tumors of uncertain type include:
• Malignant mesenchymoma - a rare cancer similar to fibrosarcoma and other types of sarcoma.
• Alveolar soft-part sarcoma - a rare cancer usually occurring in the legs of young adults.
• Epithelioid Sarcoma - usually occurs in the tissues under the skin of hands, forearms, feet or lower legs in adolescents and young adults.
• Clear cell sarcoma - a rare cancer that occurs in the tendons of the arms and legs.
• Desmoplastic small cell tumor - a rare cancer usually occurring in the abdomen of adolescents and young adults.