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Summary
Your soft tissues connect, support, or surround other tissues. Examples include your muscles, tendons, fat, and blood vessels. Soft tissue sarcoma is a cancer of these soft tissues. There are many kinds, based on the type of tissue they started in. They may cause a lump or swelling in the soft tissue. Sometimes they spread and can press on nerves and organs, causing problems such as pain or trouble breathing.
No one knows exactly what causes these cancers. They are not common, but you have a higher risk if you have been exposed to certain chemicals, have had radiation therapy, or have certain genetic diseases.
Doctors diagnose soft tissue sarcomas with a biopsy. Treatments include surgery to remove the tumor, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or a combination.
NIH: National Cancer Institute
Diagnosis and Tests
- Can Rhabdomyosarcoma Be Found Early? (American Cancer Society)
- Can Soft Tissue Sarcomas Be Found Early? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- Stages of Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Stages of Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Stages of Childhood Soft Tissue Sarcoma (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Tests for Rhabdomyosarcoma (American Cancer Society)
- Tests for Soft Tissue Sarcomas (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- TP53 Genetic Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
Prevention and Risk Factors
- Risk Factors for Soft Tissue Sarcoma (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- What Causes Soft Tissue Sarcomas? (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
Treatments and Therapies
- Chemotherapy for Soft Tissue Sarcomas (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- Drugs Approved for Rhabdomyosarcoma (National Cancer Institute)
- Drugs Approved for Soft Tissue Sarcoma (National Cancer Institute)
- Radiation Therapy for Soft Tissue Sarcomas (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- Surgery for Soft Tissue Sarcomas (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- Treatment of Childhood Soft Tissue Sarcoma (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Treatment Option Overview (Adult Soft Tissue Sarcoma) (National Cancer Institute)
- Treatment Option Overview (Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma) (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- Treatment Option Overview (Childhood Soft Tissue Sarcoma) (National Cancer Institute)
Living With
- Living as a Soft Tissue Sarcoma Survivor (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
Related Issues
- Soft Tissue Sarcomas and Agent Orange (Department of Veterans Affairs)
Specifics
- What Is Rhabdomyosarcoma? (American Cancer Society)
Genetics
- Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Ewing sarcoma: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
- Li-Fraumeni syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
Statistics and Research
- Key Statistics about Soft Tissue Sarcoma (American Cancer Society)
- NIH Scientists Map Genetic Changes That Drive Tumors in a Common Pediatric Soft-Tissue Cancer (National Cancer Institute)
- Survival Rates for Soft Tissue Sarcoma (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Rhabdomyosarcoma (National Institutes of Health)
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Sarcoma (National Institutes of Health)
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: A multicenter, randomized, non-comparative, phase II study of nivolumab ± ipilimumab...
- Article: Soft tissue tumor imaging in adults: whole-body staging in sarcoma, non-malignant...
- Article: Spatial distribution of tumour immune infiltrate predicts outcomes of patients with...
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma -- see more articles
Reference Desk
- Dictionary of Cancer Terms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Find an Expert
- American Cancer Society
- Choosing a Cancer Doctor (American Cancer Society) Also in Spanish
- National Cancer Institute Also in Spanish
- NCI - Designated Cancer Centers (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Children
- General Information about Childhood Rhabdomyosarcoma (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
- General Information about Childhood Soft Tissue Sarcoma (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
Patient Handouts
- Adult soft tissue sarcoma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- After chemotherapy - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
- Rhabdomyosarcoma (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish