What causes sarcoma in humans?

DNA mutations in soft tissue sarcoma are common. But they’re usually acquired during life rather than having been inherited before birth. Acquired mutations may result from exposure to radiation or cancer-causing chemicals. In most sarcomas, they occur for no apparent reason.

Who is most likely to get sarcoma cancer?

Age: While soft tissue sarcoma can occur in people of any age, it is more commonly found in adults over the age of 50.

Where does synovial sarcoma occur?

Synovial sarcoma is a cancer that can come from different types of soft tissue, such as muscle or ligaments. It is often found in the arm, leg, or foot, and near joints such as the wrist or ankle. It can also form in soft tissues in the lung or abdomen. Synovial sarcoma may also be called malignant synovioma.

What does a synovial sarcoma feel like?

In the early stages of the condition, synovial sarcoma may cause no noticeable signs or symptoms. However, as the tumor grows larger, affected people may notice a lump or swelling. In some cases, the tumor can limit range of motion or cause numbness and/or pain if it presses on nearby nerves.

Can sarcoma be cured?

The only way to cure a soft tissue sarcoma is to remove it with surgery, so surgery is part of the treatment for all soft tissue sarcomas whenever possible.

How can sarcoma be prevented?

The only way to prevent some soft tissue sarcomas is to avoid exposure to risk factors whenever possible. Still, most sarcomas develop in people with no known risk factors. At this time, there’s no known way to prevent this cancer. And for people getting radiation therapy, there’s usually little choice.

What kind of chemicals cause sarcoma?

Chemicals. Workplace exposure to vinyl chloride monomer, which is used in making some types of plastics, Agent Orange, or dioxin, may increase the risk of sarcoma.

Can you survive synovial sarcoma?

Around 65 out of every 100 people (around 65%) with synovial sarcoma in the limbs survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed. Almost 40 out of every 100 people (almost 40%) with synovial sarcoma in the trunk of the body survive their cancer for 5 years or more after they are diagnosed.

What are the survival rates of someone with synovial sarcoma?

The prognosis for people with synovial sarcoma has improved during the past two decades because of treatment advances involving surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. The factors for prognosis include the following: The overall five-year survival rate for synovial sarcoma is 36% to 76%.

How serious is synovial sarcoma?

Synovial sarcomas are serious cancers of the joints. Surgery can be curative, and chemotherapy may also be recommended to decrease the risk for a recurrence. The size of the tumor, and invasion of structures in and around the joint are predictive of cure or recurrence.

What are the prognostic factors of synovial sarcoma?

It is well known from the literature that the key prognostic factors at diagnosis of synovial sarcoma are tumour size [5-16], grade [9-11, 15-18], age of patient [6, 7, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19], clear surgical margins [6, 8-10, 16, 17, 20, 21] and adjuvant radiotherapy [22-24].

Should I have chemo for synovial sarcoma?

When synovial sarcoma patients are diagnosed with metastatic or non-resectable disease, palliative chemotherapy can be given to prolong survival.