Learn about soft tissue sarcoma, a rare cancer that forms in the body’s supporting tissues, including fat and muscle.
Learn more about:
- What is soft tissue sarcoma?
- Where are soft tissue sarcomas found?
- Types of soft tissue sarcoma
- Who gets soft tissue sarcoma?
- What causes soft tissue sarcoma?
- Sarcoma in young people
What is soft tissue sarcoma?
Cancer happens when cells become abnormal and keep growing. Soft tissue sarcomas are a group of cancers. They start in areas that support, connect, surround and protect the body. This includes fat, muscles, tendons and ligaments, lymph vessels, blood vessels, nerves and deep skin tissue.
Soft tissue sarcomas often form a painless lump. The lump may become painful if it grows. But most lumps in the body are not cancer.
Soft tissue sarcomas can grow into nearby tissue or spread (metastasise) to other parts of the body.
Sarcoma that starts in the bones, also called primary bone cancer or Ewing sarcoma, may be diagnosed and treated differently to other soft tissue sarcomas.
Where are soft tissue sarcomas found?
Soft tissue sarcoma can grow almost anywhere, but it’s more common in the areas shown below.
Types of soft tissue sarcoma
There are many different soft tissue sarcomas. The more common ones are listed here. Sarcomas are usually named after the type of cell where the cancer started, or the part of the body where they are found.
| undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) | mix of cells with different sizes and shapes | ||
| gastrointestinal stromal sarcoma (GIST) | from nerve cells in the stomach; treated differently to other soft tissue sarcomas | ||
| liposarcoma | from fat cells | ||
| leiomyosarcoma | from muscle tissues (e.g. in blood vessel walls or the uterus) | ||
| rhabdomyosarcoma | from muscle tissues; more common in children and young adults | ||
| angiosarcoma | from blood and lymph vessels | ||
| malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumour (MPNST) | from the cells that cover nerves; also called neurofibrosarcoma | ||
| fibrosarcoma and myxofibrosarcoma | from fibrous connective tissues | ||
| sarcomas in stromal tissue | from supporting tissues | ||
| Kaposi sarcoma | from skin cells; or may be in the lower legs | ||
| spindle cell sarcoma | made up of many spindle-shaped cells | ||
| synovial sarcoma | from connective tissues; often found in arms, legs, feet and around joints | ||
| pleomorphic dermal sarcoma (PDS) | most common on the surface of sun-damaged skin in older people | ||
| epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) | from cells in the walls of blood vessels |
More information on the different types of soft tissue sarcoma is available from the Australia and New Zealand Sarcoma Association (ANZSA) and Rare Cancers Australia.
Who gets soft tissue sarcoma?
Soft tissue sarcomas are rare cancers. There are about 2,500 Australians diagnosed with a sarcoma each year, but this number is increasing.
Soft tissue sarcomas are more common in people over 55, but they can develop at any age.
For information about being diagnosed and coping with a rare type of cancer, see Rare and less common cancers.
What causes soft tissue sarcoma?
The cause of sarcoma is not always known. Factors that may increase your risk of certain types of soft tissue sarcomas include:
Radiation therapy
People who had radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy) have a slightly higher risk of sarcoma. But most people who have radiation therapy won’t get soft tissue sarcoma.
Inherited conditions
Some rare conditions that run in families may increase your risk of sarcoma. These include neurofibromatosis (NF), Li-Fraumeni syndrome, retinoblastoma, tuberous sclerosis and Werner syndrome. Most people will know if one of these very rare conditions runs in their family.
Chemical exposure
Being exposed to vinyl chloride (used in making plastic), dioxins, and some high-dose herbicides (weedkillers) may increase your risk of sarcoma.
Lymphoedema
Swelling from a build-up of lymph fluid (lymphoedema), especially over a long period of time, may increase your risk of angiosarcoma.
Immunosuppression
People with a weak immune system, like those taking medicine after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease, are at a higher risk of Kaposi sarcoma.
Sarcoma in young people
Children or teenagers can also get sarcoma. This section focuses on adults, because care for young people may be different.
For support for young people, visit:
→ READ MORE: Soft tissue sarcoma symptoms
Key resource
The information on this page is also available for download.
A/Prof Richard Boyle, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, NSW; Catherine Chapman, Adolescent and Sarcoma Cancer Specialist Nurse, Canberra Health Services, ACT; Belinda Fowlie, Bone Tumour Nurse Practitioner Candidate, SA Bone and Soft Tissue Tumour Unit, Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Leanne Goegan, Consumer; Jonathan Granek, Consumer; Prof David Gyorki, Surgeon and Director, Sarcoma Service at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Prof Angela Hong, Radiation Oncologist, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Melanoma Institute Australia, GenesisCare and Clinical Professor, The University of Sydney, NSW; A/Prof Yeh Chen Lee, Medical Oncologist, Prince of Wales Hospital and UNSW, NSW; Caitriona Nienaber, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA.
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